Former Formula 1 broadcaster Will Buxton has praised Graeme Lowdon following his abrupt exit from his role as Cadillac team principal, insisting the American outfit would not be on the grid today without him.
Cadillac announced during the summer break that after just 11 races of its debut campaign, team principal Lowdon would be replaced by former Renault executive director and FIA technical chief Marcin Budkowski.
Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast alongside former driver David Coulthard and Sky Sports analyst Naomi Schiff, Buxton reacted to the news.
“I think they probably brought Graeme in to be the team principal in the building phase because he had that experience. He had that knowledge from when he was with Manor/Marussia, whichever name you want to give it,” Buxton explained.
“So he knew what it took to build up a team from nothing. And he did that fantastically. I think it’s safe to say Cadillac wouldn’t be on the grid without Graeme, without his experience and without the work that he did to build that team up to put the people in place and get them on the grid.
“He himself, though, admitted not long ago that he believed he had quite a narrow window of expertise, and I don’t know if that’s a discussion that he’d had with the team or that the team had maybe had with him, but there was certainly a realisation there on his part that he probably wasn’t going to be the long-term option there.”
Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss confirmed that the decision was not mutual and that Lowdon had only been informed on the morning of the announcement.
“It’s not that Graeme was doing a bad job, but they needed somebody now to take this on and move it to the next stage,” the former F1 TV host added about the timing of the transition. “And we all know how long it takes in Formula 1 to change direction.
“The earlier you can get somebody in, the better it is for all involved because you then have a greater influence on what’s coming down the line in 2027, 2028 and so on.
“There perhaps isn’t any place for niceties in that regard when you want to be as competitive as possible and get the people in as early as possible.”
