Cadillac shows its true colors with the unexpected dismissal of its team principal

The dismissal of Graeme Lowdon truly came out of nowhere. Just before the summer break, Cadillac arranged an interview with its team principal, which was published on GPblog a couple of days ago. Days later, Lowdon is gone.

It feels a bit like how things were at Alpine for years. A couple of years ago, I was sitting at the table in Abu Dhabi with Oliver Oakes, only for him to be replaced a few months later. This is rarely a sign of competent management, given that F1 is always about the long term.

That message clearly didn’t land with Cadillac’s leadership. They had been working on this project in the background for four years, with Lowdon as its figurehead. Half a year into F1, and he’s already deemed not good enough. Dan Towriss took time to thank his “friend” Graeme in a media session where GPblog was present, but you can question whether Lowdon feels the same way.

You would especially ask that question when you hear the explanation. Lowdon was only informed of the decision the morning Budkowski was later announced. Knowing that all staff are required to be on vacation during this period, Lowdon received the news while being on holiday. The team will only be informed on Monday when the factories reopen.

And that completely contradicts what Towriss tried to convince people of, namely that this was all part of the plan. It had been discussed with Lowdon that this would be a transitional period and he would be replaced at some point, but even Towriss didn’t expect it to happen this soon.

So why did it happen now? According to Cadillac’s CEO, it had to do with two things: a clear vision and the pace of progress. In other words, those two elements were lacking under the previous team boss. The fact that he’s been sidelined during the summer break of his first season in charge has nothing to do with a well-thought-out plan, and everything to do with, in management’s eyes, underwhelming performance.

And, to be fair, there is something to that argument. Cadillac entered F1 with big ambitions. It got a foot in the door because it was supposed to be more than just making up the numbers. However, so far, the team has done exactly that. Much of the finger-pointing has been directed at the fact that other teams have more experience. Of course, Ferrari and Mercedes have more experience and are light-years ahead, but wasn’t Cadillac supposed to be more than just another team filling the grid?

Basic things have gone wrong. The brake issue, in particular, has been downright embarrassing for the team. Having both cars retire because the brake design didn’t account for dirty air from cars ahead points to a lack of expertise within that department.

Still, you can wonder whether firing Lowdon solves anything. Budkowski is certainly a bigger name. He worked for Prost, Ferrari, McLaren, the FIA, and Renault/Alpine. At the latter team, he took charge, but it wasn’t a great success. He was part of Alpine’s revolving door of people coming and going.

In that regard, Towriss’ words do little to inspire confidence among those who care about Cadillac. He stated during the press conference that much more will change at Cadillac than at any other team on the F1 grid. That contradicts everything succesfull teams have shown in the past.

Because if there’s one lesson from success stories in Formula 1, it’s that consistency among top people in your organization is key. Whether it’s Mercedes (Toto Wolff), Ferrari (Jean Todt), Red Bull (Christian Horner), Benetton/Renault (Flavio Briatore), or McLaren (Ron Dennis), wherever systematic success was achieved, there was peace and stability at the top. Of course, a key figure would leave now and then, but they were immediately replaced by someone of the same or higher caliber. You don’t build success by constantly appointing new people; Alpine and Aston Martin have proven that in recent years.