On the Ground At Miami F1: Live from Bloomberg House Miami
Bloomberg Hot Pursuit!
Bloomberg Hot Pursuit!May 1, 2026
On the Ground At Miami F1: Live from Bloomberg House Miami
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47:08
Topic
Miami F1
The episode is centered on Formula 1 in Miami, likely discussing the event, teams, and the broader business ecosystem around the race. This is a structural segment topic rather than a specific technical automotive concept.
Formula E is a racing series where the cars run on electricity instead of gasoline. Drivers have to manage the battery energy during the race, so strategy matters as much as speed.
The Ford Taurus is a regular passenger car (a sedan) made for everyday driving. It’s designed to be comfortable and practical for commuting and family use. It may be mentioned simply because it’s a familiar model name in the conversation.
The Lamborghini Urus is a luxury SUV, meaning it’s a bigger vehicle with room for passengers and cargo. It’s built to be fast and exciting, not just comfortable. People notice it because it looks like a Lamborghini and drives with strong performance.
The Rolls-Royce Cullinan is a very expensive luxury SUV. It’s meant for comfort and a smooth ride, while still being useful like an SUV. People talk about it because it’s a Rolls-Royce, but in an SUV shape.
The Aston Martin Vanquish is a luxury sports car. It’s made to be quick and comfortable for longer drives, not just short trips. People talk about it because it looks distinctive and performs like a serious sports car.
F1 is the top level of open-wheel racing—think of it as the biggest “race series” for single-seat cars. The cars are very high-tech and race around the world.
Le Mans is a legendary endurance race in France where cars race for about 24 hours. Drivers and teams have to manage speed, tires, and reliability for the whole event.
Drive to Survive is a Netflix show about Formula 1. It gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at teams and drivers.
Company
Stoddard family and motorcycle dealership in Scotland
This refers to a specific family-run motorcycle dealership business in Scotland. It’s relevant because the speaker’s mother bought her first motorbike from that shop, connecting the family business to their racing roots.
A helmet is the protective headgear racers wear. It’s there to help protect you if you crash, and it also makes it harder to tell who other drivers are from the outside.
“Carts” here refers to kart racing, which is a common entry point for young drivers. Karting helps build fundamental skills like steering control, braking timing, and race starts.
Concept
international level
Racing at an international level means you’re competing against drivers from other countries. It usually means the competition is tougher and more widely recognized.
Formula 3 is a stepping-stone racing league for young drivers. It’s one of the places drivers go to prove they’re ready for bigger leagues like Formula 1.
Formula 1 is the biggest and most competitive level of open-wheel racing. It’s the top “dream league” for race drivers.
Term
OCB
OCB sounds like an acronym for a personal habit or tendency. In this segment it’s being used to explain why the person struggles with being on time, not to describe a car or driving technique.
They’re talking about the rules for racing—both how the cars are allowed to be built and how races are run. Those rules affect how teams design their cars and how they compete.
This means the driver is either speeding up or slowing down, rather than letting the car roll freely. In racing, that choice can affect both speed and how the car behaves on track.
Concept
controlling the load
Controlling the load refers to managing the forces acting on the car—especially how weight shifts and how tires are loaded during acceleration, braking, and cornering. In racing discussions, it often ties to maintaining traction and stability while using power efficiently.
Qualifying is the part of race weekend where drivers try to set the quickest lap. Your result decides where you start the race, which can strongly affect your chances.
Energy management means using your available power in a smart way instead of just pushing as hard as possible all the time. In some racing series, you can’t spend all your energy at once, so drivers plan when to go hard and when to save it.
“Harvest the energy” means turning braking energy into usable power again. Instead of wasting it as heat, the car stores it and can use it later to speed up.
A “limit driver” style is basically driving as hard as the car can handle—using maximum grip and braking. The speaker is saying that modern racing also forces drivers to think about saving limited resources, not just going fastest.
Resource management means you can’t just use everything at once. Drivers have to plan how to manage limited things (like power or grip) so they stay fast for the duration of the race.
Term
grid of results
The grid is the lineup of cars—who starts where. “Down the grid” means looking across the field from one position to the next.
Electrification means cars are using electricity more—either as a helper (hybrid) or as the main power source. In racing, it changes how the car uses energy during the race.
Term
yo-yo boost
“Yo-yo boost” means the car’s extra power doesn’t come in smoothly—it kind of surges and drops. Drivers have to manage it so the car stays controllable while still being fast.
“Artificial passing” means passing that’s helped by the rules or by car systems, not just by raw speed. The idea is to make it easier to overtake when cars are close together.
“Super clipping” here sounds like the car is getting too close to the track edge/curb in a way that makes it hard to control. If you then have to swerve to avoid someone, it can quickly turn into a crash.
“Lifting and coasting” means easing off the gas and letting the car slow down naturally for a moment. Drivers do it to keep the car stable and to manage grip, which can still help them set a fast lap.
“Ultimate lap time” means the fastest lap a driver can realistically produce in that session. It depends on things like tire grip and how well the driver times braking and acceleration.
DRS is a system in Formula 1 that helps cars go faster for a short time. It changes the rear wing so the car has less drag, which can make it easier to pass another car.
Tires only grip the road up to a point. As they get hot or worn, they lose grip, so drivers have to slow down or drive more gently to avoid sliding.
Concept
database of all female competitors worldwide
They’re saying they keep a big list of drivers worldwide and use it to follow how people are doing. That helps them decide who’s improving and what support they need.
F2 and F3 are lower-level racing leagues that help drivers get ready for Formula One. Think of them as training steps where drivers learn and get noticed.
MotoGP is the biggest, most competitive motorcycle racing series. The question here is when women will start finishing at the very top—like on the podium or winning.
They’re talking about the Formula 1 race in Miami and why this weekend is a big deal. It’s being treated like a major comeback moment after a break in racing.
Formula One is the highest level of auto racing with teams competing on a schedule of races. When there’s a break, teams and drivers spend more time preparing for the next event.
Fan activation is basically a planned experience or event meant to get fans excited and involved. Here, they’re describing something free that helps people in Miami connect with the team.
It’s a common saying in car marketing that winning races should lead to more people buying cars the next day. They’re asking whether that’s really the point here or if it’s mostly about racing.
“VVIP” is marketing for the highest level of VIP treatment. They’re describing special, premium access and experiences for guests during the Miami event.
The British Grand Prix is a Formula One race held in the UK, typically at Silverstone. Mentioning it here sets the context for a past race where rain affected performance and strategy.
In Formula One, “developing the car” means using testing, race data, and driver feedback to improve performance over time. It’s an ongoing process of refining setup and engineering so the car gets faster and more consistent.
“Working as a singular unit” describes how Formula One teams coordinate drivers, engineers, and strategists to act as one cohesive system. The goal is to translate feedback into engineering changes efficiently and consistently.
They mention General Motors because GM is expected to supply engines for F1 starting in 2029. Since the engine system is a big part of how fast an F1 car can be, this kind of supplier change matters.
In F1, the “power unit” is the car’s main engine system. It’s not just one engine part—it’s the whole setup that makes the car move, and teams spend a lot of time developing it.
Here, “infrastructure” means the factories and facilities needed to build the car’s key parts. For F1 engines, you need serious production space and support to make the technology.
Here, “ecosystem” means more than just putting a logo on a race car. It’s about building the whole support system around the team, like development programs and partnerships.
Concept
F2
F2 is a lower-level racing series that helps drivers get ready for Formula One. Doing well in F2 is one of the common ways drivers earn a chance to move up to F1.
Development drivers are typically young or reserve drivers who help a Formula One team with testing, simulator work, and track learning. They may also get opportunities to race in feeder series while the team evaluates their progress toward a future race seat.
Before someone can race in Formula One, they usually compete in smaller junior racing series first. Those series are like training grounds that help drivers prove themselves.
“Develop drivers” refers to the structured process of training and supporting young talent so they can progress toward F1. It often involves coaching, racing opportunities, and sponsorship or funding to keep a driver competing long enough to reach the top.
The “fan zone” is a dedicated public area at major motorsport events where fans can interact with teams, drivers, and event activities. In this segment, it’s referenced as a way to make F1 feel approachable to new audiences.
They’re talking about what it’s like to start a Formula 1 team and build it while it’s already racing. The “ship” metaphor means you’re improving the team while also trying to perform in real time.
This means the car is designed and tested mostly using computer models first, before lots of real-world track testing. Engineers simulate how parts will behave so they can make better decisions early.
Silverstone is a well-known race track in the UK. When someone mentions building operations there, it usually means they’re expanding their racing-related work near that track.
Indianapolis is referenced as the location of the team’s headquarters. In motorsport contexts, this often implies engineering, operations, and management functions tied to racing development.
Charlotte is where they’re building the factory for the power unit. That’s the key engine-and-hybrid system for an F1 car, so it’s a big part of the team’s setup.
They’re talking about how fast the team is getting better from one race to the next. It’s basically a “how quickly are we improving?” measure compared to other teams.
In racing, “scoring a point” means finishing high enough to earn points toward the championship. It’s a sign the team is doing better, even if they aren’t taking first place.
They’re talking about the first time this F1 effort is racing in the United States. It’s a big milestone for the team and for the person speaking.
Concept
motorsport empire
“Motorsport empire” is a metaphor for building long-term dominance or a large, multi-level presence in racing—typically through sustained team investment, talent development, and expanding into multiple series or markets. It’s not a specific technical term, but it describes the strategic ambition behind the program.
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News.
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.
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.
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.
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About this episode
Bloomberg Hot Pursuit! goes live from Miami with a mix of motorsport ambition and business strategy. Susie Wolff talks about her new book, the growth of F1 Academy, and how family support and calculated risk shaped her path into racing. The conversation then turns to Cadillac’s Formula One project: building a U.S.-based team, hiring fast, leaning on veteran drivers, and using Miami to showcase a premium fan experience while laying groundwork for an American F1 ecosystem.
Matt and Hannah report live from Bloomberg House Miami for the first F1 race on American soil in 2026, plus guests Susie Wolff and Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss.
