Marcin Budkowski

Biography

Marcin Budkowski is a former Team Principal of the Alpine Formula 1 Team and FIA Deputy Race Director. His career in motorsport spans the technical, strategic and regulatory working in one of the world's most high-performance, competitive, high-stakes environments.

Starting his career specialising in aerodynamics and innovation, Marcin worked at Prost Grand Prix, Ferrari and McLaren. At Ferrari, he contributed to multiple world championships under Jean Todt and Ross Brawn. Whilst at McLaren for seven years he progressed through various aerodynamic roles before becoming Head of Aerodynamics, leading a 100-person department driving technical performance at the cutting edge of Formula 1, including during Lewis Hamilton's 2008 title-winning year.

After McLaren, Marcin moved to the FIA, motorsport’s governing body where he served as Deputy to F1 Race Director Charlie Whiting and later as Head of the F1 Technical Department. Here he played a pivotal part in introducing transformative safety measures including the Halo device, helping to redefine safety standards across the sport whilst keeping the sport competitive and innovative. He then joined Renault F1 as Executive Director, managing 750 staff across design, engineering, production and logistics, before becoming Team Principal of the team under the Alpine F1 name and helping to secure its first Grand Prix victory.

Drawing from his experience in elite motorsport where success is measured in milliseconds, Marcin explores how organisations can enhance performance by taking calculated risks, adapting quickly and communicating efficiently. He looks at leadership and team culture in high-stakes, innovation-led environments, decision-making under pressure with incomplete information, and how to balance peak performance with safety and operational excellence. He examines how to balance innovation and technology strategy with managing change whilst also maintaining culture and focus on clearly defined goals.

Marcin now serves as CEO of the World Cup of Motorsports, an international high-performance single-seater championship, and contributes to various motorsport initiatives through consulting activities and driver management. He also regularly appears on Polish television as an F1 pundit.