Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Marcin Budkowski

  • Cadillac announce Budkowski as new Team Principal

    Cadillac have announced that former Alpine boss Marcin Budkowski will become the new Team Principal of the American team.

    Budkowski previously acted as Executive Director of the Alpine team until his exit in 2022, having previously joined from the FIA in 2018. He has since been working as a television pundit in his native Poland.

    As well as holding roles with Alpine and the FIA, Budkwsoki also worked with teams including Prost, Ferrari and McLaren, with his experience spanning engineering and leadership.

    Now Budkowski will return to the paddock in his new position, marking a change in leadership for Cadillac as the team prepare for the second half of their maiden campaign in Formula 1.

    Graeme Lowdon has previously acted as Team Principal at the team.
    The appointment comes as part of a “planned leadership transition” Cadillac have said, as the organisation “evolves from its initial build phase into the next stage of racing performance”.

    Marcin’s appointment marks another important step in the continued evolution of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team. From the beginning, our goal has not been simply to participate in Formula 1, but to build a next-generation team capable of competing at the very front. As we enter this new era for the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, Marcin brings exceptional F1 experience, technical expertise and strategic leadership that will strengthen our organisation and help us develop the winning mindset, tools and processes required for long-term success. We’re grateful to Graeme Lowdon for his leadership and the role he played in forming the Cadillac Formula 1 Team from the ground up. His contributions helped establish a strong foundation in our build-up phase, and we thank him for his commitment and wish him well.
    Dan Towriss, CEO of Cadillac.

    Cadillac Formula 1 Team has an extraordinary foundation and ambition. This is a phase of huge opportunity for the team, one that will be defined by a clear objective: maximising car development within the cost cap and turning every team function on to compete. That means building an elite organisation with a winning mindset – driven, relentless in the face of setbacks, obsessed with detail and process, and able to execute with precision on race day. My focus will be on aligning our people, tools and information flow so the right decisions are made quickly, and the performance of the car improves every time we go racing. It is a privilege to be leading Cadillac Formula 1 Team’s on-track efforts, starting in Zandvoort next weekend.
    Budkowski on the news.

  • Marcin Budkowski left Alpine

    Marcin Budkowski left Alpine

    Today it got announced that Executive Director, Marcin Budkowski has left Alpine which brings a three-year stint at the team to an end.

    Budkowski has been a part of Alpine since 2018 where he joined from the FIA- before that he started his F1 career in the aerodynamic department of a few teams first being Prost GP, then Ferrari from 2002 to 2007 where he saw the team win multiple championships.

    He then decided to seek a new challenge and joined McLaren in 2007 where he worked in a variety of aerodynamic roles both at factory and on track- he became head of aerodynamics in 2012, however his 7 years at McLaren ended in 2014.

    He then went on to the FIA as mentioned above, where he became F1’s technical and sporting coordinator for the FIA, he then became head of the Formula One technical department in 2017. He then joined Renault as executive technical director and in January 2021 he was made a director of Alpine.

    Alpine have said that Laurent Rossi CEO will “temporarily” run the operation “to allow everyone to focus on next season’s preparations”. Rossi took over as CEO ahead of last season and since being in the team he has been conducting a review of it, which includes the management structure.

    Rossi said: “I would like to thank Marcin Budkowski for his commitment and contribution to the team’s results over the last four years. The team is fully focused on getting the car ready for the first race in Bahrain and deliver a step beyond in performance.”

    Budkowski added: “I truly enjoyed being part of the leadership team of Renault then Alpine F1 Team, working with such a talented and dedicated group of people. I will be watching the team’s progress fondly in the seasons to come.”

    My Opinion-

    I was shocked to hear this because I felt like he didn’t do anything to not deserve the position- but that being said, I feel like Alpine has some big problems in their management area seeing as Cyril Abiteboul left on the 11th January 2021, and now Marcin in January 2022…

    Obviously the rumour mill is spinning more and more now since Marcin has now left, will we see an announcement in the next few weeks about a certain Otmar Szafnauer joining the french team? And could this be the same for Aston Martin with Marcin? It’s a wait and see game at the moment…