Cadillac confirms Lowdon’s shock exit wasn’t a “mutual decision”

The Cadillac Formula 1 outfit has confirmed that Graeme Lowdon’s dismissal as its team principal “wasn’t a mutual decision” – adding he was only told on the morning.

Cadillac made a shock announcement on Wednesday that Lowdon had been replaced by ex-Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski for the rest of the 2026 campaign and beyond.

It came during the summer shutdown of the American squad’s debut season in F1, where it is bottom of the championship and without a point after 11 rounds.

But that was largely expected for Cadillac’s first year and it was initially assumed that Lowdon would continue with the team for the long-term after helping to build it from the ground-up.

However CEO Dan Towriss confirmed “it was my decision” during a media roundtable alongside Budkowski, who has been a television pundit since leaving Alpine in January 2022.

“It wasn’t a mutual decision,” confirmed Towriss. “The process started a few months ago: really thinking about what the next phase for Cadillac Formula 1 looks like, what’s the right timing, how would that look, and then the capabilities of the various folks out there.

“We were delighted in the conversation with Marcin and how that relationship evolved. So Graeme and I spoke this morning, so I think it is a very recent conversation from that perspective.

“But there’s no easy way to make this transition within Formula 1. Can you imagine the press if Marcin strolled through for a tour of the factory or having these conversations?

“It becomes destabilising at that point and so it’s important to respect the view of the leadership that’s in place at that time.

“So it does compress the decision-making, the timeline and how these things come together. It makes it feel more abrupt than it would be otherwise.

“But it’s the nature of Formula 1 and it’s the way it had to happen.”

Considering the abrupt nature of the sacking, it led to questions on social media as to ‘why now’ and it was therefore put to Towriss if Lowdon was simply there in an “interim capacity”.

Dan Towriss

Photo by: Cadillac Communications

The American responded: “I don’t think it’s fair to say that he was here in an interim capacity. It really is a function of performance and how things evolved.

“Those are certainly going to be discussions that are going to be kept between Graeme and myself, as to where those aligned and where they didn’t align.

“What I can say is, what was accomplished, I have immense respect for. This isn’t an interim period for me and for Graeme, it’s almost a four-year period of planning and building and doing all the pieces.

“So it was the right time based on the circumstances that exist both within the sport and within the team and so this is the right time and the right place to make that step going forward.

“Anytime we’re making a transition in Formula 1, as you guys know, it’s very difficult. It’s very difficult to keep it quiet, that there weren’t a myriad of leaks around that.

“But here we are. We’re again very grateful to Graeme for what he brought to the team and very excited about Marcin’s leadership and what the future looks like for Cadillac.”

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