Budkowski Designs Cadillac’s Future: “There Are No Shortcuts in F1”

Marcin Budkowski has clear that Cadillac's path to the elite of Formula 1 will be long and demanding, the new director of the American team, who assumed the position amid the team's move to its new facilities in Silverstone has defined a roadmap based on patience, hard work and the construction of its own identity: "It has been quite a whirlwind, to be honest, I started the same day the team was moving to Silverstone, for me it was also very impressive to work in these facilities because they are impressive and modern, with F1 standards" Budkowski declared in an interview with the official Formula 1 website.

The Polish executive considers that one of the keys to accelerating Cadillac's growth is to study how the leading teams work although he warns that there is no magic formula: "There is no magic formula but given our short history, it would be foolish not to analyze what works in the best teams, it's not about reinventing the wheel. There are some principles that work well and that can be observed in other teams but I think the culture and approach at Mercedes are different from those at Red Bull, for example, as they are different from those at Ferrari so there is no model to follow, that's why you have to build the team's own culture and identity" he explained.

Budkowski wanted to avoid long-term expectations diverting attention from immediate needs: "In modern Formula 1 there are no shortcuts, it requires a lot of hard work but the first thing is not to make good decisions but to avoid bad ones" he stated. The Cadillac director has clear what his objective is: "To demonstrate progress in terms of results because that is what matters, the stopwatch and the results but also in the maturity of our organization, the solidity and the factory as well as operational excellence on track".

For Budkowski the improvement does not depend solely on having a faster car, but on optimizing the functioning of the entire structure: "To make the most of every session, every weekend and that will set us on the path to gradually fighting in the midfield of the grid and, hopefully, at some point, building a team that is capable of fighting for podiums for victories and for championships" he noted. However, before imagining themselves fighting for triumphs, Cadillac must finish establishing the foundations of its project: "That is not today's story, today's story is to finish building a team that is strong, establish the right priorities and set the right course" he added.

The Polish executive is aware that Cadillac fans will have to maintain patience while the team advances in its development: "For the fans for those who support us, it's simply about making sure we demonstrate that momentum, that progress and that vision at the front, it is going to take time. It will require some patience but we already have a lot of support and I think we are excited to embark on this path alongside them, which will take time, but we hope it bears fruit" he concluded.

Patience, however, should not be confused with lack of ambition: "We are winners, until we climb onto that podium, we will not be satisfied with ourselves and we want to keep striving" Budkowski sentenced, making clear that Cadillac's final objective is to compete for the greatest successes of Formula 1.