Marcin Budkowski
Cadillac Salary
Team Principal
How Much Marcin Budkowski Earns as Cadillac Team Principal
Marcin Budkowski’s base salary as Cadillac team principal is £750k-2m ($994k-2.7m) on F1 Salaries’ own figures. A bonus of £75k-600k ($99k-795k) would take his year to £825k-2.6m ($1.1m-3.4m), but he only started in August, so 2026 pays him for part of a season.
Cadillac hasn’t disclosed his deal. We’ve put him level with Alan Permane at Racing Bulls, a fair match for a first-time team principal who already led more than 700 people at Alpine. Kursiv’s April 2026 list had his predecessor Graeme Lowdon on €2m ($2.3m).
Anonymous motorsport pay survey behind Budkowski's team principal band and the 10% to 30% bonus range.
April 2026 list that puts his predecessor Graeme Lowdon on €2m, with unclear definitions of pay.
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Insider · Issue 23
01 · The Last Race
Singapore by Salary
Pos
Driver
Pts
Salary
1
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
25
$70m
2
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
18
$34m
3
Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
15
$3.4m
4
Lando Norris
McLaren
12
$30m
5
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
10
$13m
6
Insider+
7
Insider+
Our Take · Insider+
What Each Point Now Costs Red Bull
What Budkowski Was Hired to Do at Cadillac
Budkowski runs the Cadillac F1 team day to day and answers to Dan Towriss, who appointed him on August 12, 2026. Towriss wanted someone to move the team on from its build phase and get more out of the car within the cost cap.
Reliability comes first. Cadillac had nine retirements in its first 11 races, and Budkowski wants a tighter link between the trackside crew and the factory, where Nick Chester leads the technical department. He brings an aerodynamicist’s eye from Ferrari and McLaren, plus four years as Renault and then Alpine’s executive director.
Cadillac's August 12, 2026 release naming Budkowski at 49 and setting his goal of car development within the cost cap.
Towriss explains why the change was his decision, and Budkowski names reliability as his first priority.
Why Cadillac wanted his aero and leadership background, including leading more than 700 people at Alpine.
Reports the change and the nine retirements Cadillac had in its first 11 races under Lowdon.
Budkowski on coming back after four years away and putting reliability ahead of outright pace.
F1's guide confirming his FIA deputy race director role and his punditry for Eleven Sports Poland and Viaplay.
October 2017 report on his Renault move, his Prost, Ferrari, and McLaren roles and the rival teams' protests.
Confirms he left Alpine in January 2022 after four years and that Laurent Rossi took over the team.
Profile covering his Warsaw birth, his studies at École Polytechnique and the 2012 nickname from an Italian journalist.
Official standings after round 17, with Pérez and Bottas still on zero points.
Budkowski's Pay Next to Other F1 Team Principals
Budkowski’s £750k-2m ($994k-2.7m) matches Alan Permane at Racing Bulls and starts above Ayao Komatsu‘s £600k-1.5m ($795k-2m) at Haas. The longer-serving F1 team principals are on much more, with Frédéric Vasseur at £3m-6m ($4m-8m) in charge of Ferrari.
Marcin Budkowski's Career in F1 Aero and Management
Budkowski trained at France’s École Polytechnique and spent 13 years in F1 aero departments before the FIA and Renault moved him into management.
Budkowski and the Rest of Cadillac's Leadership
Budkowski is the most senior figure inside the Cadillac race team, with only Dan Towriss above him at the holding company. His band starts above chief technical officer Nick Chester‘s £500k-2m ($663k-2.7m), and he inherited the job from Graeme Lowdon, who left with no points on the board.
What People Ask About Marcin Budkowski
Marcin Budkowski has been Cadillac’s team principal since August 12, 2026, when he replaced Graeme Lowdon halfway through the team’s first F1 season. He’s a 49-year-old Polish-French engineer who used to run Alpine as executive director, and he reports to Dan Towriss, the chief executive of TWG Motorsports.
Budkowski’s base salary at Cadillac is £750k-2m ($994k-2.7m) on F1 Salaries’ figures, and a bonus could add £75k-600k ($99k-795k). Cadillac hasn’t published his pay or the length of his contract. He started in August, so 2026 only covers part of a year at that rate.
There’s no published average, but Marcin Budkowski’s £750k-2m ($994k-2.7m) sits near the bottom of the team principal bands on F1 Salaries. Ayao Komatsu’s £600k-1.5m ($795k-2m) is the lowest and Toto Wolff’s £4m-7m ($5.3m-9.3m) the highest, not counting Adrian Newey’s package of up to £30m ($39.8m).
Dan Towriss is the chief executive Marcin Budkowski answers to. He runs TWG Motorsports and Cadillac’s F1 holding company, and he made the call to replace Graeme Lowdon, telling reporters the decision was his and wasn’t mutual. Budkowski handles the race team day to day, while Towriss oversees the wider business.
Nick Chester leads the technical side at Cadillac as chief technical officer, working under team principal Marcin Budkowski. Budkowski trained as an aerodynamicist but hasn’t given himself a technical title. Chester’s department designs the car, and Pat Symonds, who ran Renault’s engineering when it won the 2005 and 2006 titles, advises as an engineering consultant.
Renault hasn’t had a team principal of its own since 2021, when the Enstone team became Alpine and Marcin Budkowski took charge of its F1 operation. Cyril Abiteboul was the last Renault boss. In 2026 Alpine is run by executive adviser Flavio Briatore and managing director Steve Nielsen, with Renault Group still the owner.
No credible figure exists for Marcin Budkowski’s net worth, so F1 Salaries shows it as not disclosed. His money has come from salaried jobs at Ferrari, McLaren, the FIA and Renault, followed by four years of broadcasting. There’s no record of him holding a stake in any team.