The new director of the American team acknowledges that the pace of F1 and the complexity of the pit wall surprised him after years away. Despite the difficulties, he highlights the good internal work and marks reliability as the immediate priority.
Marcin Budkowski did not take long to realize the magnitude of the challenge he has taken on. The new Cadillac director, who replaced Graeme Lowdon at the head of the American team at the end of August, has acknowledged that his return to Formula 1 has been "a bit of a shock to the system." The Pole, who had been away from the category since 2022, has had to readapt to a highly demanding environment, especially in a project that is still taking its first steps.
"What hits you first is the pace of F1, which I knew well, but after a few years away from the sport it is a bit of a shock to the system because it is incredibly fast, technical and laborious, especially when you start with a new team and a new project" declared Budkowski in Friday's team principals' press conference. The director also shared a revealing anecdote about his return to the pit wall: "The first time I sat back on the wall in FP1 at Zandvoort I had 12 channels sounding in my ears, it took me a while to get used to it" he confessed with humor.
Despite the initial impact, Budkowski is clear that the fundamentals of leadership have not changed: "If you reduce it to the essentials it is about people, about building the team. About putting the right people in the right positions, about making everyone work together and in terms of leadership giving them a vision and aligning everyone in that direction, that has not changed" he stated with conviction.
The balance of his first weeks at the head of Cadillac is positive, although with nuances. Budkowski has highlighted the quality of the work done by the team in such a short time: "I have seen many good things in the team and it is quite impressive given the time they had to build it and the conditions of the entry. There are many good things, there is no legacy compared to other teams, there are many open and constructive discussions but there are also a series of shortcuts being taken, which is inevitable when you build a new team in such a short time" he explained.
The Polish director identified the areas that require more attention: "It is about working on some areas that need more care, in the short term reliability, we have seen that we have struggled with that in some areas and taking operational excellence to the next level, which is not the level of a leading team today but that is understandable, in the long term clearer priorities are emerging for what we need to do and improve, above all to improve our performance and our pace" he noted.
Cadillac remains the only team on the grid that has not scored points this season. The best result to date is Valtteri Bottas's thirteenth place at the Chinese Grand Prix, despite the lack of pace and reliability problems Budkowski is optimistic about the future. His experience at teams like McLaren, Alpine and the FIA backs him to lead a project that aspires to consolidate in the long term.
The challenge for Budkowski is enormous, Cadillac has resources, backing from General Motors and a clear ambition, but building a competitive team from scratch requires time, patience and sound decisions. The Pole has taken on the challenge with humility and determination, aware that the road to the elite of Formula 1 is long and full of obstacles.
