Speaker 1: We're very confident. We started a little bit behind our
Speaker 1: competitors and Adrian only joined us in March. We didn't
Speaker 1: get our first wind Tunnel car into the wind Tunnel
Speaker 1: until April, so slightly behind our competitors I believe were
Speaker 1: in their tunnels in January. We have a lot of new,
Speaker 1: a lot of new partner with Honda, new power unit.
Speaker 1: We have a new gearbox we're making for the first time.
Speaker 1: We have new sustainable fuels with our fantastic partner a
Speaker 1: Ramco and Valveline for our Loubes in our engine, in
Speaker 1: our gearbox. So there's a lot of new first time
Speaker 1: in seventy five year Formula One history that they're change
Speaker 1: at chassis and the power unit simultaneously. So it'll be
Speaker 1: very exciting, no doubt, be a lot to learn in
Speaker 1: the coming first coming races.
Speaker 2: What would be what would be a win for you
Speaker 2: or what would be success for you in terms of
Speaker 2: placement this season?
Speaker 1: What do you what do you expect to get? We
Speaker 1: don't really go in with expectations. We're going to try
Speaker 1: our best, do the best we can. I'm quite confident
Speaker 1: with the team we've put together and the partners I've
Speaker 1: just mentioned that we'll do a great job. You know,
Speaker 1: the set of rules is here with us for five years,
Speaker 1: so it's not about the first racer two, it's about
Speaker 1: the next five years. Again, extremely confident. We have the
Speaker 1: right people, we have the right tools, we have the
Speaker 1: right processes, we have the right partners. So I'm very
Speaker 1: confident for extremely confident for our future.
Speaker 2: We have seen reporting that Mercedes and Red Bull have
Speaker 2: found some kind of edge with variable engine compression. It's
Speaker 2: all very technical. Some have accused them of cheating like
Speaker 2: animals I think was a quote I heard. Others have
Speaker 2: defended them. Christian Horner came to their defense. What do
Speaker 2: you think about people looking for an edge in the
Speaker 2: rules ahead of the ahead of the season.
Speaker 1: Listen, you're always looking for an edge in the rules
Speaker 1: and you're always looking to find loopholes. That's part of
Speaker 1: formula one. I'm not a technical power unit guru to
Speaker 1: really give an opinion on exactly what they've done, but
Speaker 1: I will leave it to those who are in the know. Obviously,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of talk going on between the various
Speaker 1: power unit teams and the FIA to check the legality
Speaker 1: of what they've done.
Speaker 2: How about your confidence in Adrian Newey. Obviously everyone's very
Speaker 2: excited to see what he can do with your team,
Speaker 2: and other teams have looked with a little bit of
Speaker 2: wonder in awe at the suspension for example, that he's
Speaker 2: been able to create. What do you think are your
Speaker 2: biggest advantages with him?
Speaker 1: You said it, it's having him. He is the goat,
Speaker 1: he is a unicorn. Nobody has a track record like
Speaker 1: he's had since his time's in Formula one, winning twenty
Speaker 1: five world championships. He is unique. There's one Adrian, and
Speaker 1: I am very blessed that he's my partner and with
Speaker 1: our team.
Speaker 2: I was lucky enough to speak with George Kern last week,
Speaker 2: CEO of Brightling, and you now have new partnership with them.
Speaker 2: What do they bring to the team beyond you know the.
Speaker 1: Well, Formula one is all about time, it's about to
Speaker 1: stop watch, it's about the clock. So one of the
Speaker 1: important partners is obviously a timekeeper. And you know there's
Speaker 1: a fashion aspect around Formula one of the way people dress,
Speaker 1: of attitudes, and I think Brightening captures the time component
Speaker 1: with their historic with their history, with their great time pieces.
Speaker 1: You know they have a history also in aviation. So
Speaker 1: I think it's very appropriate to these two great brands
Speaker 1: to be together.
Speaker 2: By the way, a little bit of a curve ball here, Lawrence,
Speaker 2: because yesterday was the Super Bowl and the Seattle Seahawks
Speaker 2: were victorious. They're not too far away from Canada, and
Speaker 2: there reports that that team may be for sale. Would
Speaker 2: you ever consider going into another league, going into another
Speaker 2: sport beyond the track?
Speaker 1: No, I have my plateful right now. I'm absolutely thrilled
Speaker 1: with what I'm doing, and sadly you just spoilt it
Speaker 1: for me because I was planning to go back to
Speaker 1: my hotel tonight and watch replay of the game because
Speaker 1: I was trying not to know who had won. So
Speaker 1: I made it this far. I'm okay. I apologize.
Speaker 2: That's awful, although you know it was a super Bowl.
Speaker 1: So that's okay.
Speaker 2: In terms of the In terms of the f one
Speaker 2: team that that you, I mean, valuations have been amazing.
Speaker 2: There reports now that maybe al Alpine is looking to
Speaker 2: sell a steak, and I wonder if you would be
Speaker 2: interested in selling any of your steak or your team
Speaker 2: at this point, because it's worth so much.
Speaker 1: Yeah. No, I'm very satisfied with my shareholding. We're not
Speaker 1: looking to sell any shares. We're looking to grow the
Speaker 1: business and to do great in the sport.
Speaker 2: Let's talk about the car business. I've been lucky enough
Speaker 2: to have seat time in the in the Vanquish as
Speaker 2: well as the Vantage and the and the DBX there.
Speaker 2: They're amazing cars, and I have to say that a
Speaker 2: huge alternative to Ferrari is what you offer and something
Speaker 2: that has more beauty then sort of the kind of
Speaker 2: technical prowess that the Italians have leaned into.
Speaker 1: What do you think the market is.
Speaker 2: Getting wrong about ast and Martin the business?
Speaker 1: I think it's just a question of time. Not many
Speaker 1: people learned about the DBX. They're actually finding out about
Speaker 1: it now. They were not familiar that we even made
Speaker 1: an suv because we don't historically make a product like that.
Speaker 1: It's actually doing extremely well at the moment. The Vanquish,
Speaker 1: as you say, is on fire. We have a fantastic
Speaker 1: order book for that, as well as dB twelve and
Speaker 1: as well as Vantage. So for us, it's now a
Speaker 1: matter of sticking with our portfolio, growing our demand, getting
Speaker 1: our dealers in place. The dealers weren't used of also
Speaker 1: having such a diverse product offering from the company, particularly
Speaker 1: with the launch of Valhalla, so you know, not so
Speaker 1: different than Formula One. Everything takes time. I've been in
Speaker 1: the road car business a similar amount the time as
Speaker 1: I've been in the Formula One team, and it's also
Speaker 1: a ten year journey. So we're quite pleased with where
Speaker 1: we are, and we're quite pleased with the portfolio that exists.
Speaker 1: I'm very excited about the portfolio it'll be coming in
Speaker 1: the years to come.
Speaker 2: I'd say I drove the DBX through our snowstorm in
Speaker 2: New York last week and it functioned perfectly. I wouldn't
Speaker 2: want to change a thing there with the vantage I
Speaker 2: might like to add an extra pedal. And I wonder
Speaker 2: if you've thought about leaning into the analog side of things.
Speaker 2: Aston Martin has always represented like a mechanical intimacy, whereas
Speaker 2: Ferrari seems to be leaning into sort of technical and
Speaker 2: computational excellence. Do you think that would be a good analog.
Speaker 1: We introduced two manual specials, so we already have two
Speaker 1: five speeds that we've introduced in the last three years
Speaker 1: to great demands. So we believe that, as you call
Speaker 1: the analog is still very relative for today's particularly Aston
Speaker 1: Martin customers.
Speaker 2: So you don't think there's any room for a manual
Speaker 2: vantage at your dealerships, because it does seem like when
Speaker 2: I look through the you know, the the auctions and
Speaker 2: the used car listings, they command a huge premium, sometimes
Speaker 2: one hundred percent premium for a manual car over an automatic.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's probably true. No, that's not planned for our
Speaker 1: lineup at the moment.