Budkowski starts Cadillac tenure in 'listening mode'

Marcin Budkowski has taken charge of Cadillac with a clear mandate: listen first, change later. The former Alpine technical chief inherits an operation still seeking its first point after 11 races and battling persistent reliability woes including brake overheating and suspension failures.

Why it matters:

Cadillac's struggles have exposed a potential disconnect between its factory and trackside operations, a gap Budkowski views as critical to close. For a team built from scratch in mere months, establishing whether existing infrastructure can support improvement is more urgent than rushed overhauls.

The details:

• Budkowski told reporters his immediate focus is understanding how factory and track personnel work together.
• He warned that reliability issues risk creating a factory-trackside split, stressing this link "needs to be very, very strong in any Formula One team."
• The packed 24-race calendar keeps factory and track staff apart, unlike the smaller, 16-race eras of the past.
• GM expertise: Budkowski believes General Motors offers deep U.S. technical talent, including aerospace-level capabilities, that hasn't been fully leveraged yet.

What's next:

With Zandvoort marking his first race weekend, Budkowski plans to split time between the factory and paddock to assess both sides. Rather than promising quick fixes, he is focused on determining whether Cadillac already possesses the ingredients to progress and ensuring everyone is pulling in the same direction.