Cadillac reveal why now over sudden team principal change

Cadillac Formula 1 CEO Dan Towriss has revealed why he sacked Graeme Lowdon as team principal, after the shock announcement that Marcin Budkowski will immediately take the helm at the American team.

Lowdon was a key player in gaining Cadillac its F1 entry, and has been working on the project for four years with Towriss, but just 11 races and half a season into the team's rookie campaign, the 61-year-old has been cast aside in favour of former Alpine executive director Budkowski. 

While keeping details of the conversations between himself and Lowdon private, Towriss confirmed that the decision to make a change was his alone.

"It was my decision; it wasn't a mutual decision," he told the assembled media. 

"I think, really, the process started a few months ago to explore what, 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. And obviously we were delighted in the conversation with Marcin and how that relationship evolved.

"Yeah, so Graeme and I spoke this morning. So it is a very recent conversation from that perspective, and there's no easy way to make this transition within Formula 1. 

"Can you imagine the press if Marcin's strolling through for a tour of the factory or we're having these conversations? It becomes destabilising at that point. And so it's important to respect the purview of the leadership that's in place at that time, and 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."

News of Lowdon's departure broke on Wednesday afternoon, midway through the championship's summer shutdown. In the press release confirming the surprise departure, Lowdon was mentioned by name once, with no reason given for his exit beyond an eventual change always being 'part of the plan'.

This was something that Towriss was equally evasive over, maintaining the line with little deviation. 

"Graeme and I always talked about that there would be a transition at some point," he said. "This decision was mine. 

"There's a very narrow window of opportunity when you look at what we're building, and an opportunity to build something new and innovative. What I didn't want to do was build something that's already been done, something that's old and then try to improve it. And so I think the time for that change came sooner than was expected.

"I wouldn't say that it's the performance or the teething issues over the last few weeks, that it's really about just having a clear vision on what we're building in the future, the rate of progress, and making sure that that matches the ambitions of ownership."

The F1 paddock is notoriously bad at being able to keep secrets, with driver transfers or personnel changes usually leaked well in advance of any move actually happening. 

But the fact that this switch came with no speculation at all, and the possibility was not even hinted at by Lowdon when he faced the media at recent grands prix, raised more than a few eyebrows. 

Asked how aware Lowdon had been of the plan for change and whether he had become a victim of his own early success, Towiss was quick to deny that the Briton was only ever viewed as an "interim" boss. 

"I don't think it's fair to say that he was here in an interim capacity," he said. "It really was 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 and Graeme and I have been through a lot. 

"Again, 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."