Quick Hits

• Cadillac has abruptly replaced team principal Graeme Lowdon with ex-Alpine boss Marcin Budkowski (Autosport) — the first major leadership change of the team's short F1 life, and one Lowdon evidently didn't see coming.
• The FIA has admitted tweaks are needed to ADUO after entering talks and joint data analysis with Red Bull over the first ADUO verdict (PlanetF1) — a significant concession to an engine manufacturer just as the development race heats up.
• Mercedes is gearing up for a major post-summer upgrade push, with deputy technical director Simone Resta also explaining the reliability struggles the all-new 2026 power unit rules caused early in the season (F1Technical).
• The FIA has lifted its restrictions on Russian and Belarusian drivers, no longer binding them to a 'neutrality' commitment and walking back the emergency measures (Motorsport.com).
• Racing Bulls is the midfield story of 2026 so far: Motorsport.com's mid-season grades say the team "stuns the midfield pack" after entering the regulation reset as one of the grid's smaller squads with plenty of question marks (Motorsport.com).

Technical & FIA

The ADUO saga is the one to watch. Per PlanetF1, the FIA and Red Bull sat down for talks and data analysis over the first ADUO verdict, with the governing body now conceding tweaks are needed — which only raises the stakes on the PU side for the second half of the season.

Mercedes is moving. Resta has suggested a "significant" upgrade package is being prepared for the season run-in as the development race intensifies (F1Technical), while separately admitting the new-for-2026 power unit regulations created genuine reliability headaches that explain the team's early-season struggles (F1Technical).

A detailed Ferrari upgrade roadmap is also doing the rounds on r/formula1: the claim is a chassis that's a benchmark in high speed and braking but down on power and traction, with a three-stage fix — a Zandvoort aero package, an "ADUO 2" PU at Monza worth a claimed +15hp, and an Austin chassis update to fix rear overheating. Forum intel for now, but a juicy roadmap if it pans out.

Meanwhile, Autosport tackles the grumbling that's rumbled since pre-season — loudest at so-called "energy-starved" circuits where the corners-to-straights ratio punishes deployment — and argues driver talent remains a genuine difference-maker under the 2026 rules.

Driver News

The Cadillac shake-up dominates. Autosport reports Budkowski, 49 — a man with a myriad of roles in the championship behind him — replaces Lowdon, with r/formula1 calling it the GM-backed squad's first major change of its short F1 stint. Awkwardly, PlanetF1 has published Lowdon's final interview before his "shock" exit, while on the official side Budkowski and TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss have addressed the leadership change, rest-of-season priorities and the future (Formula1.com). Valtteri Bottas, for his part, says he's seen "clear progress" in Cadillac's challenging maiden campaign as the grid's 11th team (Motorsport.com).

Elsewhere: Arvid Lindblad admits his rookie season has "exceeded expectations" — the 19-year-old calling it a dream after a strong start (Motorsport.com). Isack Hadjar has identified a key area he must improve compared to Verstappen, with Red Bull seat talk persisting — though, as Motorsport.com notes, not around the seat that's faced the most pressure in recent years (Motorsport.com). Guenther Steiner says he'd return to F1 only for a genuine "project" (Motorsport.com), and PlanetF1's look at the 2027 silly season flags F2 names like Nikola Tsolov as players (PlanetF1).

Championship Picture

Motorsport.com's Red Bull midterm grade tells of a team that started admirably as a bona fide PU manufacturer but has lagged on the chassis side since day one — with the late push before the break offering only a "glimmer of progress" ([Motorsport.com](https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-2026-mid-season-grades-red-bull-stumbles-but-summer-rally-shows-glimmer-of-progress/108