Cadillac sack Lowdon and present Budkowski as new F1 boss

LONDON, Aug 12 : Formula One newcomers Cadillac sacked founding principal Graeme Lowdon after half a season on Wednesday and replaced him with Polish-French engineer Marcin Budkowski in a move they admitted had been planned behind the scenes for some time.

Budkowski, 49, has held positions at a number of teams including Ferrari and McLaren as well as the governing FIA. 

Lowdon, a 61-year-old Briton, had led General Motors-backed Cadillac from 2024 through the process of becoming the sport's 11th team, hiring personnel and seeing the cars line up on the starting grid in Melbourne for the first time last March.

Cadillac, not unexpectedly, are the only team yet to score a point in 11 rounds this season, suffering reliability issues although they have performed better than Aston Martin for much of the time and have experienced drivers in Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.

Cadillac said in a statement that Budkowski's arrival would help long-term competitive development.

"His appointment follows a planned leadership transition as the organization evolves from its initial build phase into the next stage of racing performance," the team said in a statement, thanking Lowdon for his contribution.

LOWDON INFORMED ON WEDNESDAY MORNING

Dan Towriss, the Cadillac F1 CEO who also runs team owners TWG Motorsports, said Budkowski brought "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.” 

Speaking to reporters later, Towriss said he had called Lowdon earlier on Wednesday morning to tell him the news.

"It was my decision, it wasn't a mutual decision," said the American.

"I think really the process