Cadillac Boss Budkowski Defends Team’s First F1 Season Despite Pointless Start

Posted : 04 September 2026

Cadillac may sit at the bottom of the Formula 1 constructors’ championship, but new team principal Marcin Budkowski believes the American outfit’s debut season has been a respectable one.

The 2026 campaign is Cadillac’s first on the F1 grid, with experienced drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas leading the team’s charge. Despite their experience, the team has yet to score a championship point, with Bottas’ 13th-place finish in China currently their best result. Perez appeared set to score in Monaco after finishing 10th, but a subsequent penalty dropped him outside the points.

Budkowski, who replaced Graeme Lowdon during the summer break, praised the work completed to get Cadillac onto the grid despite its limited preparation time. He described the team as being “under construction” and argued that producing a reasonably competitive car for a brand-new operation was itself a significant achievement.

The Polish-French engineer acknowledged that reliability has been a major weakness. However, he said such problems are understandable for a new organisation and admitted that some decisions made during the team’s rapid development process have created issues that now need to be addressed.

Budkowski is particularly optimistic about Cadillac’s 2027 project. Although the team operates with fewer resources than established front-runners and midfield rivals, he believes the lessons learned during its debut season can help produce a substantial improvement next year.

The new team principal also expressed satisfaction with Perez and Bottas, highlighting the value of having two experienced drivers helping develop the organisation. While he stopped short of making a formal commitment about their long-term futures, both drivers are currently understood to be contracted with Cadillac through 2027.

Budkowski admitted that taking charge midway through the season limits how much he can immediately change. Nevertheless, he sees the timing as an advantage because it gives him an opportunity to influence Cadillac’s development direction, organisational structure and working methods ahead of its second season.

His immediate objective is therefore less about transforming Cadillac’s 2026 results and more about laying the foundations for a stronger and more competitive team in 2027.

Cadillac Boss Budkowski Defends Team’s First F1 Season Despite Pointless Start

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