On the Ground At Miami F1: Live from Bloomberg House Miami

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I'm Hannah Elliott.

And I'm Matt Miller.

This is Hot Pursuit.

Coming up, we have a special edition live from Miami with Susie Wolfe.

She's got a new book out.

It's called Driven.

Very fittingly called Driven.

She's also the head of F1 Academy.

The head of F1 Academy.

She's the real deal.

A lot of experience in Formula E and obviously she lives, eats, sleeps, and breathes racing.

So I'm really looking forward to that.

I know.

I loved.

I've started reading her book.

I love how she actually says she's kind of insecure about how thick her neck is.

What?

From racing.

Like she's always, it's kind of cool.

She like, isn't that kind of cool?

That is cool.

I've always been a little bit insecure about how thin my neck is.

Well, there's something we can relate to her with.

We're also going to give you a piece of Hannah's interview with Cadillac team principal Dan Taurus.

Yes.

Here at the Bloomberg House in Miami.

And this is a cool thing that we did.

Bloomberg, obviously a financial news organization, did a dedicated building in Davos,

where the masters of the universe fly their private jets into Switzerland for

a big power week.

It was so successful that we decided we needed to do it in the U.S.

And we chose Miami.

I kind of love it.

And also we were asked earlier, like, what's the growth platform of F1?

I think the fact that Bloomberg House is in Miami is a pretty good testament.

We want to be where the power players are.

Yeah.

And they're here.

It's already Miami known as Wall Street South.

So ever since Ken Griffin brought Citadel down here and New York and California raised taxes on

everybody, the richest people in America have been pouring down here.

So we're we're covering it as closely as we can and happy that we see so many.

I saw yesterday more than one baby blue Lamborghini Urus.

Love.

Ooh, love.

How'd it look?

I mean, a little embarrassing, I think.

But I know you love that truck.

I do.

I think it's the superior version of the SUV.

I saw a Bugatti Chiron.

Oh, really?

This morning.

Very nice.

And I tell you, it's beautiful.

I saw a Rolls Royce Cullinan drive by me one way and then a Drophead drive by the other way.

And then I looked over at an Aston Martin, Olive Green,

Vanquish on the street and my buddy that I was walking with said, oh, that's my car.

And I said, how did you choose the color?

And he said, same as my yacht.

Well, of course.

Of course.

As you do.

Makes perfect sense.

So a lot coming up on the F1 world with Suzy Wolf.

We also managed to wrangle an interview with Fernando Alonso.

This is a big get, Matt.

It is a big deal for me, especially because people of a certain age remember his

championship days in F1.

He's obviously, well, he's not even as old as me.

He's only 44.

No, he's a young, he's a young thing.

Yes.

And he's raced an Indy car and there's a lot of talk about him at Le Mans.

And he's a nice guy.

He's like quite a gentleman, too.

Yeah.

So I'm very much looking forward.

Plus, he looks like Dave Grohl.

Well, that's something we need to talk about.

And I love the Foo Fighters.

Was a big Nirvana fan back in the day.

So looking forward, too.

I'm a big Courtney fan, so we may, of course.

We're going to be on different sides of the same coin on that one.

But remember, he's not Dave Grohl.

Okay.

Yeah, sure.

He is Fernando Alonso.

Let's get into it.

Here's our conversation with Suzy Wolf.

Suzy, it is such, I echo Matt's sentiments.

It is such an honor and a pleasure to have you here.

And it's also just really fun because I feel like we can talk to you about any number of

things and go any direction.

But I want to start with your book, just because that is front of mind for me.

I've started reading it.

It's called Driven.

It's fabulous.

You're also going to be speaking about it tonight at the Fillmore, we should say,

in conjunction with Live Nation.

So anyone who wants to also attend that, I think, can Google it, search it.

But I've read comments in the media where you kind of said,

you never thought you would write a memoir.

And I'm curious why you, in all of your history and everything you've done,

thought that you wouldn't write a book about your own life.

Well, firstly, hello, everybody.

It's wonderful to be here.

I've just arrived in Miami.

Thank you to Bloomberg for hosting me.

And it's such an exciting week to be in Miami.

I love the Miami Grand Prix, even though F1 Academy is not racing this weekend.

And yes, here, predominantly because Driven, my book,

launched in the US just on Tuesday.

And it's such a funny question that you ask because I guess I have so much on my plate

with other things that I thought writing a book is a lot of work.

So I didn't really see myself having the capacity.

But the background story, at the end of 2024,

when we were just trying to get the momentum around F1 Academy.

And for those of you that don't know what it is, it's a race series for young women

because we're trying to challenge the preconception that it's still

a man's world, that it's macho.

And I had this idea that it would be great to have a children's book

of a little girl that raced that parents could read to their daughters

that helped change the mindset shift of who belongs in racing.

And I went to meet the six big publishers in London

and all of them had the same feedback for me.

But we can do a children's book, but first you need to write your book.

And at the time, I thought I have zero capacity to write a book.

But I went home to Scotland for Netflix filming of all things for Drive to Survive.

And I was sitting with my brother who's a film director.

He's the creative one in the family.

And we were catching up and I said, oh, I went to meet some publishing houses

and they said I should write a book.

And he said, that's super interesting.

You know, he would write a book and how could it look in the stories.

And I suddenly sat there and thought, I will write a book

and I'm going to do it together with you.

So I wrote the book together with my brother.

Way more work than I anticipated.

And I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

So nine drafts later, my publisher eventually said, it's done.

This is the final version.

Now we need to get the book out.

But it feels like with the cultural shift happening at F1,

I mean, 42% of the global fan base is now female.

The fastest growing fan demographic is the 18 to 24 year old female.

It felt like the right time to tell the story

because the sport that I competed in in 2015, 2014,

it's very different to the sport we see now.

And that's something which I think F1 should take credit for

because they put a lot of investment into F1 Academy.

And we've just seen this big shift

where we just have such a strong female fan base

that also makes good business for us to connect with.

I wonder, we always talk to big CEOs and big,

we've interviewed Toto, for example, on our podcast.

Team principles, and I'm always interested in where you came from.

And you have, I think, an especially interesting story

in the Stoddard family and motorcycle dealership in Scotland.

It sounds so much fun.

And also, so like only in Great Britain do you have these mothers

that are like caning their children down the ski slopes

and encouraging them to do these extreme sports.

And if you fall down, get up, walk it off, you're going to be fine.

Tell us about how you grew up and what made you

want to pursue a career in racing and a career in this sport.

You're not painting a very good light on my mother here.

She's a real badass.

I think it's awesome.

It sounds great.

I actually want to read about her life as well, I should say.

Well, when I look back, I mean,

how many of you in the audience have children?

I don't want to see you look old,

so maybe you have children, but okay, that's good.

I think when I look back at my childhood, you're right.

I had a mother.

I mean, my mum met my dad when she bought her first motorbike

from his shop.

She used to race quads.

So I grew up seeing a mother who was equal to my father.

She ran her own business.

And I have a brother who's only 15 months older than me.

So where I'm so thankful when I look back,

my parents never differentiated between son and daughter.

It was never that my brother should get a motorbike

and I should go off and play with a horse or with Barbie.

I wanted a motorbike too.

I got one.

He raced.

If I wanted to race, I raced.

And a lot of people presume I was a little tomboy,

but I loved Barbie.

I loved pink, but I also loved racing.

And they very much brought me up in an environment

where I never once thought I was doing anything unusual

for a girl.

And the great thing about my sport is you wear a helmet.

So actually when you're out on track,

you don't see who your competitors are.

And the great thing about sport is it's so pure.

The result sheets count.

So it didn't matter that I was the only girl out there.

What mattered was how fast I was.

And if I was going to be able to compete at the front.

But that environment that I grew up with,

this definitely this toughness of you fall down,

where you dust yourself off and you pick yourself back up.

And I'm so thankful I got that tenacity

because that definitely was probably the most important trait

while I was racing.

And I've realized in the world of business,

it's also been a great tool.

I wanted to ask about that.

You know, it was really,

it seemed very normalized in your family

that you would do everything,

of course that your brother did,

but also that your parents did,

whether it was skiing or swimming, motorbikes, carting.

How important do you think it was for becoming who you are today

that all of that was normalized across the board?

And there were no exceptions.

And did you ever find a moment

where you actually wished your parents

might have actually carved out a little of a safety net for you?

Did it ever feel that, oh, this is too much?

It never did because they never pushed us.

It was very much there are the possibilities.

If you work hard, you can be successful

and we're here to catch you if you ever fall.

And even to this day, you know,

I'm here in Miami with Toto.

We've been in New York.

It's my parents who are looking after my son.

So they've really been such a support network.

And without a doubt,

I wouldn't be who I am today and where I am today

without that foundation of love and support.

And that environment that very much gave me that ambition

and drive to say, well, I want to achieve

and there's no reason why I can't achieve if I work hard enough.

So I definitely think our childhood plays such a big part

in who we've become and also that they exposed me

to the world of racing and what was possible

because when I raced carts, I was racing at an international level.

But as a youngster, you're not really thinking

about the future or your career,

but they took me to watch a Formula 3 race

when I was 13.

There was a young English driver called Jensen Button

who won in that day.

Of course, he went on to be pretty successful.

But that's when I suddenly thought,

I want to be a racing driver.

I want to try and make it to Formula 1.

And I had all these pictures on my wall of F1 drivers.

Clearly they were all men.

But I looked back at that little girl

and I think to myself,

did you not realize there was no other woman racing?

And I didn't.

It never once really occurred to me

that I was the only woman

and of course, as my career progressed

and the media attention around my success

and my journey increased,

it became so much about me being a woman.

But I was just out there to be the best racing driver I could be.

But suddenly the bigger story was the fact that I was a woman.

By the way, we've had Jensen in our podcast as well.

In case you're wondering.

Nice guy.

Woman or man, I think I would be scared

because you're driving.

I mean, no one ever talks about this, right?

Because we all watch racing

and we're all involved to some extent in this story.

But it is dangerous.

You're driving very fast.

And if you want to win,

you have to be willing to make certain sacrifices

with your safety, right?

Have you never thought like,

especially after you got married and had a kid,

like maybe I shouldn't be driving this quickly.

Well, I became a mother after I stopped racing

and I'm definitely glad I did in that order.

Because I think that would be tough.

I never once worried or had fear.

I mean, I think people presume racing drivers

are really, you know, risk takers.

But it's always calculated risk.

We always know where the limit is clearly

to get onto pole position and be at the front.

You need to be on the very edge

of what's possible in a racing car.

But I think it's more getting comfortable

than the uncomfortable.

Because pushing yourself out of your comfort zone,

getting to that stage,

whether you're in a racing car

or any other point in your life,

that's where you kind of, the rewards are the biggest.

And there was many points in my racing career

and now in my business career

where I threw myself in the deep end.

It was uncomfortable.

But I knew that was the moment

where I would develop and grow the most.

And I think as a racing driver,

you never once actually think this is dangerous

because you're pushing for all the marginal gains out on track.

And we're very lucky and we don't take this for granted

that the sport is so much more safe now

than it was 20 or 30 years ago.

And touch wood, we don't see fatal accidents

nearly as often as in the past.

So I think the sport from a safety perspective

has also moved on.

Are you a big risk taker in other parts of your life too?

Like in business or in investing?

Are you willing to take big risks?

I'm only willing to take big risks

if I can cope with the worst case outcome.

And I always calculate what the worst case outcome is.

So I'm very decisive and I'm happy to take risks,

but only if I can cope with what the worst case scenario would be.

I did want to ask about that too,

and this kind of hinges on that question,

the idea of control.

Because when you start the book, you set us,

we're in the car with you, the F1 car,

you're doing the laps, and you kind of are saying,

the only thing I can't control is the weather,

the only thing I can't...

Good thing the Brits and the Scots are good in the wet.

And it made me think, are you a control freak?

And is that bad? Is that good?

And actually, how does that translate into your success

in your career off the track as well?

I don't think I'm a control freak,

but I like to control the controllables.

Because I feel that in those moments of high pressure,

it comes down to preparation.

You know, I always like to put myself

in the best possible position for success,

which means the hard work and the preparation,

the background, that's me.

You know, there's nothing I haven't thought of,

and I'm meticulous, and I'm very disciplined,

which drives my husband mad sometimes.

But isn't he the same? Wouldn't he be the same?

He is the same, but I always say, you know,

there's East Coast time, there's European time,

and then there's total time,

and it's always 10 minutes after the hour.

He can never get somewhere on time,

despite being Austrian and quite meticulous.

But I think that was just who I was always.

It was in my character.

So clearly being in a sport where it's all about precision,

it probably got worse.

The longer I was in racing, and of course Formula One,

everything is down to the last detail.

That's why I love the environment so much,

but it probably didn't help my OCB.

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Now let's get back to our chat with Suzy Wolff,

the head of F1 Academy, and who just has a new book out, Driven.

I want to ask a little bit about control in driving,

and about the current Formula and regulations,

because I'm a bad driver on track, and I know that because...

You're like a man admitting he's a bad driver.

So unusual.

Fair, fair.

I respect you for that.

I feel like I know, intuitively,

I should always be either on the gas or on the brakes.

I want to be controlling the load.

There shouldn't be a point where I'm lifting and coasting,

which is what I do to...

So you've got the theory correct.

But now there are drivers who say they have to do that too much,

especially in qualifying.

They have to stop and harvest the energy.

And I just wonder what is your take on that,

because you worked so long in Formula E,

and that is really an energy management exercise.

But usually Formula One is like a limit driver exercise,

and now it's become resource management as well.

It's a difficult one.

I think people have varying opinions.

I'm obviously on the situation now where I run a race series.

So for me, fundamentally, it's about creating exciting racing.

You need cars, being able to overtake,

you need to see an exciting race.

And I think Formula One in the past was exciting to watch.

There's some races, obviously, where we get unlucky,

and there's not a lot of action.

There's Monaco.

Terrible, exactly.

But I also think it's about the challenge,

and clearly this is a new challenge for the drivers.

I think it's interesting that the drivers that are complaining,

I mean, you go down the grid of results and they get...

Are we going to name names?

The complaints get louder and louder down the grid you go.

But I understand people are sometimes resistant to change,

and this is a big change, but the world is changing.

Electrification is part of where we are in the automotive industry,

and we as a sport need to reflect that.

So I think what's happened now is there's been a small tweak

to the regulations for this weekend,

but I think we will find our rhythm.

I think fundamentally, as long as the racing is great,

the drivers will get used to it,

and there's definitely no way that the cars are easier

to drive than in the past.

It's probably much more mentally taxing for the drivers

to do energy management and have that to manage alongside

putting a quick lap in,

but I certainly enjoy seeing just how much action

there is out on track now,

and that might create more action at Monaco.

It doesn't seem like artificial passing

is enabled by this sort of yo-yo boost use.

And then of course it's dangerous, right,

if you have this super clipping where Ollie Berman

has to avoid Colopinto and slam into a wall.

I think with the lifting and coasting,

it's still an ultimate lap time,

so whoever does it best will be the quickest driver.

But I think that is the new challenge within the sport,

and before we had DRS, that was also an artificial tool

to overtake.

We had the limitations of the tires,

which stop a driver pushing,

so I think there will always be factors

that will be the limitation to a driver

getting the ultimate lap time,

but it's still going to be the driver

that copes best within a set of regulations

that will be world champion at the end of the year,

and it's best man and best machine,

hopefully one day best woman.

Yeah, this is perfect.

This is a perfect segue,

because we should talk about F1 Academy

and what you talk about change,

you talk about progress.

What are you seeing that indicate,

okay, we're getting some traction with this,

we're moving forward, we're evolving,

we're advancing.

Give us an overview of what you see,

where we are now.

So how many of you have heard of F1 Academy?

That's pretty, pretty good.

That's encouraging.

I think we've seen this big shift culturally

in the sport, where there's just so much

more female interest in motorsport,

which I love to see,

because I was a little girl that loved racing,

and I don't think there's any reason

why women shouldn't embrace and enjoy the sport.

And I have to give a lot of credit to F1,

because it recognized this growing female fan base.

It gave F1 Academy the platform,

and all the investment we needed to get up and running,

and create positive impact to see more women

entering the sport.

And I knew for it to be successful long term,

it had to make business sense.

And we're in the situation now where commercially,

there's a great return on investment.

There are so many female focused brands

that want to come into this space,

that want to activate,

they want to talk to the fan base.

And that's what's given us such a strong foundation,

because the change will take time,

but we've created this really strong impact

in such a short space of time,

that's allowed us to see a lot of momentum.

What about the drivers themselves?

How are you personally tracking and charting their progress,

and even, I don't want to use the word coaching,

but are you personally involved

in helping them advance and refine their skills?

The great thing is we have a database

of all female competitors worldwide that are competing,

because in F1 Academy,

we always want to have the best 18 drivers.

There's a high financial bar to entry,

and in F1 Academy,

we fund over 80% of every driver,

which means it's a huge opportunity

for any given young driver.

And for us, it's to make sure

that we have the best 18 in any given season.

And we have a great team,

we have a talent development manager

that's only looking to make sure

that these drivers are given the right support.

We have the five best junior teams

who also compete in F2 and F3,

have created F1 world champions in their junior years.

So we have definitely put an environment in place

where talent can excel and that talent can be nurtured.

We'll then be us taking our champion

in the most talented and making sure

that she can rise up through the sport

and on the way to Formula One.

Do you think if you had had that when you were younger,

you may have gone even further down the road

in your own career?

I never really look back and wonder.

I definitely see the sports in a much better place

now than it was when I competed.

But, I mean, three years ago,

we were here with F1 Academy

and after the race,

which was two hours before the Formula One,

the driver who had won the race,

she was waiting to go on the podium

and I stood next to Stefano Domenicali,

the CEO of F1.

And she had a kind of tear in her eye

and she said,

I just can't believe I'm about to go and stand on a podium

at the Miami Grand Prix.

And Stefano, I looked at each other

and had a real sense of pride

because I suddenly thought,

imagine an 18-year-old female driver,

she had the race suit of an F1 team on,

going to stand on a podium at the Miami Grand Prix.

I could only have dreamed of that opportunity

when I was a young driver,

but I also felt such a sense of pride

that we've come so far in the sport

that that was possible.

By the way, I think there are a lot of people who,

maybe Chauvinus, who will say like,

women aren't strong enough to compete with men

in car racing and also in motorbikes.

Hannah and I have been following

and I actually met this racer,

Kayla Yakov.

She's a motorcycle racer.

She recently was the first woman to podium at the Daytona 200,

which is a grueling event.

And she recently was the first woman

to win pole position in a Moto America race.

And she's a tiny little thing, right?

But she's amazing.

How long do you think it's going to be

until we start to see women taking podiums,

winning races in MotoGP in F1?

Because clearly there's no physical hindrance

that would stop them.

Clearly they can and should be able to compete.

So how long until we actually see it,

start seeing it?

It's really interesting, the word you use is she's tiny.

The great thing about motorsport is it doesn't come down

to your size and your muscle mass or your muscle power

because the smaller and more compact you are,

the more of an advantage it is.

And that's why motorsport is one of the few sports

alongside sailing and horse riding or jumping

where men can compete with women.

Because I'm the first to admit I can't take on a man

in a 100 meter race because he has 30% more muscle than me.

But I don't believe this sport comes down to pure power.

And if you look at the current F1 drivers,

you know, Lando Norris, Kimi Antonelli, they're tiny.

So I think physically there's no reason why a woman

can't compete in MotoGP or in Formula One.

In Formula One you have power steering.

You know, it doesn't even take a lot of strength

to turn the wheel.

It's G-Force which is the most challenging.

But we had Dorianne Pan, our F1 Academy champion,

driving the series F1 car for the first time last week.

68 laps, no issue physically.

So we do still have that undercurrent of chauvinistic

opinions in the paddock that say, ah, women.

But I think the shift is happening

and the more talent we get entering,

the more chance we have of the best competing at the very top.

But it's like three years, four years?

You want to nail me down here, right?

I would like to think, you know, I always feel bad

when I say the next five to ten years

because I think for the young girls competing now,

they think, well, I don't believe.

Right.

They are capable, which I don't want to say.

But I do think we're on the right trajectory

and within five to eight years it's, I think, going to happen.

That's our chat with Susie Wolfe.

Such a great person and conversationalist.

And I love actually learning more about her family life

growing up in Scotland.

Yeah, very cool stuff for parents' own.

A motorcycle dealership.

Let's get a little bit of Hannah's conversation

with Dan Tauris, team principal at Cadillac.

Let's talk about Miami.

I mean, it feels like all eyes are on Miami right now.

We've had a bit of a lull in the racing action.

This is kind of Cadillac's home field.

This feels like very much a debut.

Tell us a little bit about how you're thinking

about the race going into the weekend

and what it means for Cadillac to be here.

Yeah, I mean, there has to be this lull in Formula One

with we didn't race in April.

And so, you know, everyone's been preparing for this moment.

So it kind of almost puts the Miami race in a different posture.

We're back racing again.

It's so important.

And this is such an important race.

But for Cadillac, this is our first time to race on US soil.

New team first race in the US.

We couldn't be more excited about that,

you know, with chance to continue to connect with US fans

and then show them what the new Cadillac Formula One team looks like.

Tell me a little bit about the fan activation

you've got going on.

You mentioned it.

I know it's a huge deal.

I think it's free for everybody.

How did this concept come up?

Why is it so important for Cadillac to have something

that is free and accessible to everyone in the city this weekend?

Yeah, with all the excitement around Formula One,

we want to make sure that it's the entertainment's accessible,

that building communities, you know, as we think about

how do we grow Formula One?

How do we grow the fan base in the US?

How do we grow the fan base for Cadillac?

And this really starts with building community around that.

And so, giving people access to the team

to see what Cadillac's about, you know, access to the drivers.

Are the drivers going to be there at some point?

They might.

Okay.

They might.

I mean, if you want to say any dates or times, you can let us know.

Yeah.

So it's, but yeah, it's just, it's really exciting to be able to do that,

you know, here in Miami and, you know,

everything that Cadillac is doing as well.

It's just, it's an exciting activation for us.

So, you know, that old saying race on Sunday,

sell on Monday or win on Sunday, sell on Monday.

Is that true?

Is that kind of what you're getting at that,

like all of this feeds into selling Cadillac cars necessarily?

Or is this more about the motor sport?

This is really about the, this is really about the motor sport.

I mean, we're building a fan base for Cadillac,

Formula One.

Racing.

Yeah, for the Formula One team.

Obviously, if we do a great job of that, I think it will impact,

you know, the auto brand, the car brand and sell cars.

But that's not the goal of the team.

The goal of the team is to, is to perform on Sunday.

And we want to build a fan base at the same time we're doing that.

So, on the other end, you know, also Miami is very expensive, glamorous,

very sexy place to be.

What is Cadillac doing to also tap into that type of person

who wants to come here and have a really like major weekend?

Yeah, so we have, you know, exclusive parties and, you know,

special dinner set up throughout the weekend, a big event tomorrow night.

And so really for us, we want to check all the boxes.

We want to be able to provide that premium elite experience, the VVIP experience.

But at the same time, you know, have that accessibility that builds community

in the fan base.

And we talked a little bit upstairs about your drivers.

You really, between Valetary and Checo, these are like kind of the two best

personalities in racing maybe.

Tell us a little bit about how they provide value.

Obviously, they're driving on the track.

But what's the value that they provide off the track?

It's kind of like an odd couple in a way.

It really is.

The personalities are so different.

You know, Valetary's dry and kind of crazy, you know, and some of the stunts

and things that he does, they're both, you know, but it really starts with,

they're both, you know, absolutely dead serious about racing.

They are, you know, they are here to race.

And it was their experience in the car, you know, that drove our choice,

you know, to choose them.

It was at the British Grand Prix a year ago when it rained.

And I say that thinking, like, we don't know what the forecast looks like

for this weekend.

Can't control the weather.

And you just saw experience rise to the top.

The young guys struggled with how much rain was on track.

And it really just showed us the value of experience in Formula One.

And so having those, you know, having those two alongside.

But it really is an odd couple, you know, type.

And we put them in a lot of different situations.

They've had to eat hot wings and, you know.

Who won in the hot wings test?

Not the one you would expect.

Really?

Yeah, I mean, and again, Valtteri just went all in.

You know, he was taking the biggest bites.

And I think, you know, from what I hear, he suffered on the way home.

I'm not going to ask for more details on that.

So that's great because, you know, sometimes we hear about all these

young drivers doing really well on track.

And of course, that is also true.

But it's nice to know that there is something to be said for experience.

For more of a veteran mentality.

And also Sergio, of course, has a huge fan base in Mexico and beyond.

I have to imagine that's a big growth market that you see for Cadillac.

Is that true?

And are there other ones that you are identifying too?

Yeah, absolutely.

You know, Checo has a huge fan base.

They stop us, you know, all over the world in places you wouldn't expect,

which is, you know, just absolutely fantastic.

You know, because at the end of the day, you love the passion.

Is that what it is?

Is that why he's so, it's just the passion?

Well, it's what he means to Mexico, what he means to the Mexican people.

And so they, yeah, they love to support Checo and, you know, where he's at.

And so, you know, that certainly is huge from that community standpoint.

But the fact that the drivers have a following is, you know, again,

it's part of starting that fan base.

Everything with Cadillac Formula One team is starting, you know, from the ground up.

And so, and so continuing to build the fan base with, you know,

with what we have with Checo and Valtteri is, you know,

is a huge compliment to the team.

But again, the reason we picked them is, you know, we're building a team.

We brought a lot of experienced people in that are racing the car for the first time.

And so you need like a quarterback of sorts that's helping to gel the team,

the feedback, developing the car and working as a singular unit in Formula One.

And just the progress, the change, the development that I've seen from Melbourne

through Suzuka has just been impressive and very, you know,

been very happy with how the team has progressed.

Now the month off, we have to see what's going to happen in Miami.

Teams have been working really hard.

Like a lot of other teams, we've got big updates that are coming,

you know, that are going to be on the car.

And so we'll see how it shakes out over the weekend.

Well, I was going to ask this later, but I'll ask it now because we're kind of going there.

Obviously, we've seen the news about General Motors making engines for you guys in 2029.

Which may, I don't know if saying it's a gamble is too big of a word,

but that there could be more changes coming in the next few years after that.

But it seems like it's very important for you and for the team

to have an American beating heart in that car, basically.

Why is it so essential, especially because it's a huge investment

and you might have to change it again?

I mean, this team has really founded out of national pride, you know,

that the U.S. have a seat at the table and that meant all the way across the board.

We want to create pathways for American drivers.

That doesn't mean that there's earmarked seats for Americans,

but we want to make sure that there's a clear pathway for that.

We want to have the American design build power unit in the car as well.

And so we're going to have the U.S. headquarters in Indianapolis

and power units are going to be built in Charlotte.

We'll have some 600,000 square feet of manufacturing space under Ruthers.

There's a huge commitment to infrastructure.

And then we're talking about, you know, how do we develop talent,

you know, partnerships with universities and things to develop Formula One talent

in the U.S. so that in the future it's a place to be.

And so we're looking to redefine what it means to be an American team in Formula One.

That is really exciting to hear that it's not, you're building an ecosystem here.

And it's not just about having a brand on a car.

This is from the ground up ecosystem.

I'll ask the same question Matt asked Susie earlier.

How many years in advance are we looking before we might expect to see an American driver

on this American team?

Well, look, we're going to have an American driver racing in F2 this weekend.

Colton Hurta, who's been a winner in IndyCar.

And, you know, Colton has shown really strong aptitude for Formula One.

He's learning tracks and tires and going through the process.

And so there's someone in the wings.

There's a long list of development drivers who have, you know, potential as well.

So it could be soon.

But who knows, you know, a Formula One seat has to be earned if it's never given.

It's interesting to hear.

I know you played baseball in your past.

You really have a wide sporting history.

And of course, TWG has oversight over a lot of different sporting teams and leagues.

What is the connective tissue here that also now includes Formula One?

And how has it been for you in this new field of F1 when you have a huge sporting background

and a lot of other things as well?

Yeah, I mean, I think as you look across those, you know, sports gives us that live

entertainment.

And so there's, you know, there's huge value in that.

And the growth in Major League Baseball or the NBA, you know, has been incredible.

We look at the success of the Dodgers.

And I think so across the TWG ecosystem, that is the benchmark.

The Dodgers, the Dodgers are the benchmark.

It's an incredibly high benchmark.

I live in LA, so I accept that.

I'm happy.

Back-to-back World Series.

And so, but again, I think what we look at in each place is, you know, really trying to,

you want to have the resources, you want to have the culture to attracting the talented people,

both, you know, on the field or participating in the sport, as well as,

you know, in the back office.

We're just trying to build the best, you know, teams we can.

These are premier brands.

So we think about the Dodgers, Lakers, Cadillac, Cadillac Formula One team.

You know, these are premier names in sports.

And so, you know, putting all that together is a powerful, is a powerful combination.

And, you know, and there's a collaboration across, you know, each of those teams,

you know, certainly from a commercial standpoint to say, how can, you know,

how can a rising tide lift all boats, you know, across that ecosystem?

So potentially you would give, like, the Dodgers treatment to Cadillac.

Is that what you're saying?

In terms of your role, your job?

Yeah, yeah.

So we're trying to bring the best resources to, you know, to build it up.

Like the U.S. headquarters will be, you know, the first class premier, you know, F1 headquarters.

We're not just trying to show up and look like every other team.

Yeah.

And we want to build the Formula One team, you know, for the next generation.

And so taking the steps now to do that.

What do you think have been the things stopping an American team or an American driver up till now?

Is it just about someone with a lot of money deciding I want an American team

and I'm going to build it?

Because it's been tried.

I think it's a tough road, right?

It means, like, somewhere between the, you know, the ages of six and 10,

you're moving to Europe and racing in the lower series and, you know,

and spending most of your, you know, the latter part of your childhood, you know,

in Europe, you know, looking, you know, fighting to get that chance.

It's super expensive.

And so without the right backing, without the right sponsor, you know,

it can be a definitely a long road.

I mean, there have been others in the past who have done it.

So it's not like they're, you know, haven't been American drivers.

But again, I think with what we're trying to do to bring Formula One to the U.S.,

not just have the U.S. go to Formula One, you know,

we want to continue to, you know, create that excitement to develop drivers that,

you know, that that's the young, you know, kids who want to be Formula One drivers,

you know, as an American, like, I want to drive in Formula One.

What do I have to do to do that?

And so to create that pool of talent, because it's such an elite sport,

there are, you know, so few drivers, 22 drivers that have a seat

across the entire motorsport ecosystem.

And so how do we make sure that, you know, that young Americans have that opportunity

to develop and have a chance at one of those seats?

And hopefully maybe some of the people that go to the fan zone

will get a glimpse of, oh, this is accessible.

I can start to see the thread that takes me toward getting involved.

Yeah, I mean, similar to the last conversation with, you know, with Susie,

I mean, I think it starts with sowing those seeds of belief.

You know, as a young person, do you see yourself?

Do you aspire to that?

Because if you don't, there's a good chance you won't get there.

And so you want to create that opportunity and that belief

and the inspiration to do so, you know, out of to kids of a very young age

to create that possibility.

So let's talk about this season.

I've seen some of your comments.

You've likened building an F1 team from scratch

to basically sailing a ship while you're building it

or building a ship while you're sailing it.

Talk to me about, you know, what have been the biggest surprises for you this year?

What are the challenges and what are you hoping to implement even in this race

compared to previous races this season?

Yeah, I mean, there's so many, you know, complex work streams that are happening,

you know, at the same time, building a car is no joke.

You know, designing it.

And then we're designing it without track, without on track data.

So this is a car that's, you know, built from a computer.

And so the team's done an amazing job, you know, with that from that standpoint.

And then we've got like, even if you think of HR, you know, so we're,

we add 50 people a month.

How do you build a culture when you add 50 people a month on boarding to the team?

Yeah, so you think of like, so today there's around 600 employees in the organization.

So at different stages across the year, you know, you've got, you know,

you know, 10 to 30% of your depending on what stage we're talking about

of your organization, you know, is changing month in and month out.

How do you build a culture around that?

You know, and then you want to have even like things like HR, like,

you know, just the retention and creating a place where the best of the best

want to come work.

That's its own challenge.

There's a real estate development project.

We've been building, we've been hard of work building the operations in Silverstone,

building the headquarters in Indianapolis and the Power Unit plant,

you know, in Charlotte.

And we think of the size and scale of just the real estate project alone.

It's big and it's daunting.

And so, you know, assembling all those pieces.

And then in the early stages, right, just like any other business,

it's all hands on deck.

The coffee machine shows up and it's boxed up.

Who's going to unbox it?

Who's going to put it out?

Are you saying you've unboxed a coffee machine and the espresso machine?

I might have.

Yeah.

Yeah, someone's got to do it.

It's the fuel that keeps us going.

Right.

And so, you know, you start with things like that,

but then the organization has to evolve.

You know, the organization has to turn into, you know, policies, procedures, precision,

all these things that happen so that you have robust process

to develop these cars and compete at the highest level of sport.

Like that's not done with kind of ad hoc.

It's so it's almost like something has to evolve from,

you know, Jimmy's to garage to NASA, you know,

in a very short period of time, you know,

and how do you do that while you're also producing

the very goods that you're talking about?

You know, in theory, something of this scale and scope

should take years and years.

It has taken years for all these other teams.

Yeah.

I mean, they've got names.

You know, we got our entry in March of last year.

So what is Cadillac F1 racing culture?

You know, it's grit, right?

It's our culture is we're this underdog culture that,

you know, that's exceeding expectations.

People say, you know, you won't get the car to Barcelona.

And we did, you know, we completed all the laps there and in Bahrain,

you know, and then it's like, well, you'll get to Melbourne,

but maybe it doesn't, you know, car doesn't move when the lights go out.

It did.

You won't be within the 107% of the rule for qualifying.

We were well, you know, well, well inside of that.

And we're competing against other teams and we're beating other teams,

even as we start.

And so I think across the paddock, you know,

we've exceeded expectations of what people thought was possible.

Now, having said that, I also see the perspective

that was set along the way.

I'm like, as I've walked through the factory, I'm like,

I'm glad I didn't know just how complicated.

I didn't know we had to build this.

If I had known that back then, I would have been much more intimidated,

you know, by what we set out to do.

Because it's incredibly complex, but couldn't be more proud of the work

that this team has done.

And even just seeing the rate of growth.

Because for us right now, it's that rate of progress,

you know, for the team of how we're going to improve each week,

how quickly are we catching up, you know, to, you know,

to really start to race more and more teams, we get race in,

weekend and week out.

Yeah, I was going to ask, you know, what indicators are you looking,

obviously, I don't think Cadillac is expected to win this series this year.

But there are other indicators to look at that would indicate

you're moving towards success.

It seems like you've listed a few.

Are there other things, obviously, scoring a point would be good?

What standard are you holding yourself to that let you know you're moving

in the right direction?

Yeah, I think it's really just looking at the rate of progress

and, you know, the gap to, you know, to the key competitors that we have,

that we have mapped out in the shop.

Who are those key competitors?

Yeah, well, you know, we'll keep that to ourselves for now.

Okay, all right.

But that's, you know, Cadillac's secret.

But, you know, certainly keeping track of that and what that rate of progress is

weekend and week out, you know, just how the teams are working together,

the quality of the car build, you know,

continuing to develop the relationship with Ferrari as we're using a Ferrari

power unit right now.

So, you know, all of those things are, you know, are, you know,

really key to improving that performance.

Yeah, and it seems like as you move forward, Cadillac is really gaining momentum

with the fans, if nothing else, as you're going into this weekend.

Is there anything that we should all be watching that you think would indicate

where Cadillac's headed in the future?

You know, I don't know the external factors.

I think this is really a bottoms up approach.

I think, again, we want, we've got a great group of partners and VIP guests

that are coming in.

We've got community building events, you know, as we look across.

People just, you know, a few blocks away in jungle plaza that'll be able to

watch qualifying, you know, in the race, you know, in a Cadillac fan zone this weekend.

And so, all of those things, you know, certainly point towards building up the fan base.

We've got a special livery.

We designed a special livery that is still within the black and white scheme,

but it pays homage to the Stars and Stripes.

Oh, very cool.

You know, but at the same time, we're a brand new team.

So, we didn't want to have a livery that's such a departure

that people for the first time aren't seeing what our car really looks like.

And so, this was a clever way to, you know, to blend the two together.

Okay, so last question as we close down.

What does this mean for you on a personal level, just to be here?

It's already been a long journey, you said, from when you started and now you're here.

Can you just give us some reflections on what it means to be here and what this weekend specifically

will mean for you?

Yeah, I mean, I think for me personally, this first race on US soil is incredibly meaningful.

You know, this was a dream that started over four years ago to get into Formula One.

It was a long road.

There were many days where it didn't look like it was even possible.

And all we heard was no.

And we had to turn the no into not yet and build and build and build.

And so, to finally be here, but it's not a destination.

The goal wasn't to get to Miami.

You know, it's really just the beginning of what we plan to do.

But to be able to plant the flag here in Miami for our first US race,

Miami race is so spectacular.

And so, to be able to do that here, you know, it's incredibly meaningful.

And this is a big, big weekend for Cadillac Formula One.

Well, we're so happy that you chose to spend some time with us today.

Thank you, Dan Towers.

And that was Dan Towers team principle of Cadillac F1.

And really kind of the guy trying to build a motorsport empire.

This is his goal.

Great to hear so many American teams and new entrants in F1.

That does it for this week's show.

Remember to follow and subscribe to Hot Pursuit on Apple Spotify.

And anywhere else you listen, you can also send us your comments.

Email us at hot pursuit at Bloomberg.net.

Yes. And by the way, check out Hannah's columns and stories on Bloomberg.com.

And the Bloomberg Business app.

Go there for car reviews, events and stories that you won't find anywhere else.

Find it all at Bloomberg.com slash pursuit slash autos.

I'm Matt Miller.

And I'm Hannah Elliott.

We'll be back in your podcast feed again next week.

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