Budkowski avoids driver lineup details during Austin press conference

Budkowski dodges questions in Austin

I found Marcin Budkowski’s vague responses during the FIA press conference in Austin to be a clear sign that Cadillac’s driver plans remain unsettled. The team principal faces pressure regarding the 2027 lineup because Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez operate under "one-plus-one" contracts that allow for an optional second year. Such arrangements depend on various conditions being met by both parties. While Cadillac previously presented a fixed driver plan, Budkowski’s response to questions about Esteban Ocon suggests the team’s driver situation remains fluid. When a broadcaster asked about Ocon, Budkowski said that managers contact him but he will not reveal lineup details. Motorsport.com understands that Ocon is unlikely to join Cadillac because he and Perez "mixed like oil and water" when they last worked together. The discussion began when a broadcaster asked how to evaluate a driver who appears to have a better season than his teammate. Regarding Perez, who approaches his 300th grand prix start, Budkowski said the driver does not behave like someone close to retirement. He described Perez as hungry and motivated. He also noted that Perez pushes the team in the debrief rooms and through regular texts to the team members. He also observed that Perez shows fire and motivation in his body language on the grid when he puts his helmet on and gets in the car. Budkowski noted that the team has two drivers where one is more hot and one is probably more cold.

American driver ambitions

The team’s search for an American driver remains a primary focus. Cadillac ran Colton Herta in FP1 at the Circuit of The Americas, but Herta remains one point short of a superlicence because the FIA changed the qualifying rubric. He could qualify if he gets meaningful running in another session this year, but his patchy Formula 2 campaign makes him a difficult candidate. I find the team’s focus on young talents like Ugo Ugochukwu and Sebastian Wheldon, who moves to F3 next year, to be a questionable way to address the performance disparity between Perez and Bottas. Budkowski told Sky Sports that they are working on the situation with Colton. He also noted that many talents are coming through the ranks, including Ugo Ugochukwu, who won F3. The disparity between Perez and Bottas has made Bottas’s position a subject of paddock gossip for months. This tension exists because the owners and General Motors want rapid progress, even though the team’s current status shows a significant gap in driver performance. The management changes, such as Budkowski replacing Graeme Lowdon this summer, suggest that the expectations of General Motors and TWG Motorsports are moving faster than the team’s actual progress.