WEBVTT - Aston Martin Aramco F1 Owner Lawrence Stroll Talks Upcoming Season

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<v Speaker 1>We're very confident. We started a little bit behind our

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<v Speaker 1>competitors and Adrian only joined us in March. We didn't

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<v Speaker 1>get our first wind Tunnel car into the wind Tunnel

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<v Speaker 1>until April, so slightly behind our competitors I believe were

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<v Speaker 1>in their tunnels in January. We have a lot of new,

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of new partner with Honda, new power unit.

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<v Speaker 1>We have a new gearbox we're making for the first time.

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<v Speaker 1>We have new sustainable fuels with our fantastic partner a

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<v Speaker 1>Ramco and Valveline for our Loubes in our engine, in

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<v Speaker 1>our gearbox. So there's a lot of new first time

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<v Speaker 1>in seventy five year Formula One history that they're change

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<v Speaker 1>at chassis and the power unit simultaneously. So it'll be

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<v Speaker 1>very exciting, no doubt, be a lot to learn in

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<v Speaker 1>the coming first coming races.

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<v Speaker 2>What would be what would be a win for you

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<v Speaker 2>or what would be success for you in terms of

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<v Speaker 2>placement this season?

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<v Speaker 1>What do you what do you expect to get? We

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<v Speaker 1>don't really go in with expectations. We're going to try

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<v Speaker 1>our best, do the best we can. I'm quite confident

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<v Speaker 1>with the team we've put together and the partners I've

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<v Speaker 1>just mentioned that we'll do a great job. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>the set of rules is here with us for five years,

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<v Speaker 1>so it's not about the first racer two, it's about

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<v Speaker 1>the next five years. Again, extremely confident. We have the

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<v Speaker 1>right people, we have the right tools, we have the

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<v Speaker 1>right processes, we have the right partners. So I'm very

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<v Speaker 1>confident for extremely confident for our future.

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<v Speaker 2>We have seen reporting that Mercedes and Red Bull have

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<v Speaker 2>found some kind of edge with variable engine compression. It's

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<v Speaker 2>all very technical. Some have accused them of cheating like

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<v Speaker 2>animals I think was a quote I heard. Others have

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<v Speaker 2>defended them. Christian Horner came to their defense. What do

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<v Speaker 2>you think about people looking for an edge in the

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<v Speaker 2>rules ahead of the ahead of the season.

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<v Speaker 1>Listen, you're always looking for an edge in the rules

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<v Speaker 1>and you're always looking to find loopholes. That's part of

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<v Speaker 1>formula one. I'm not a technical power unit guru to

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<v Speaker 1>really give an opinion on exactly what they've done, but

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<v Speaker 1>I will leave it to those who are in the know. Obviously,

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<v Speaker 1>there's a lot of talk going on between the various

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<v Speaker 1>power unit teams and the FIA to check the legality

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<v Speaker 1>of what they've done.

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<v Speaker 2>How about your confidence in Adrian Newey. Obviously everyone's very

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<v Speaker 2>excited to see what he can do with your team,

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<v Speaker 2>and other teams have looked with a little bit of

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<v Speaker 2>wonder in awe at the suspension for example, that he's

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<v Speaker 2>been able to create. What do you think are your

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<v Speaker 2>biggest advantages with him?

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<v Speaker 1>You said it, it's having him. He is the goat,

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<v Speaker 1>he is a unicorn. Nobody has a track record like

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<v Speaker 1>he's had since his time's in Formula one, winning twenty

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<v Speaker 1>five world championships. He is unique. There's one Adrian, and

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<v Speaker 1>I am very blessed that he's my partner and with

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<v Speaker 1>our team.

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<v Speaker 2>I was lucky enough to speak with George Kern last week,

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<v Speaker 2>CEO of Brightling, and you now have new partnership with them.

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<v Speaker 2>What do they bring to the team beyond you know the.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, Formula one is all about time, it's about to

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<v Speaker 1>stop watch, it's about the clock. So one of the

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<v Speaker 1>important partners is obviously a timekeeper. And you know there's

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<v Speaker 1>a fashion aspect around Formula one of the way people dress,

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<v Speaker 1>of attitudes, and I think Brightening captures the time component

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<v Speaker 1>with their historic with their history, with their great time pieces.

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<v Speaker 1>You know they have a history also in aviation. So

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<v Speaker 1>I think it's very appropriate to these two great brands

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<v Speaker 1>to be together.

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<v Speaker 2>By the way, a little bit of a curve ball here, Lawrence,

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<v Speaker 2>because yesterday was the Super Bowl and the Seattle Seahawks

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<v Speaker 2>were victorious. They're not too far away from Canada, and

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<v Speaker 2>there reports that that team may be for sale. Would

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<v Speaker 2>you ever consider going into another league, going into another

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<v Speaker 2>sport beyond the track?

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<v Speaker 1>No, I have my plateful right now. I'm absolutely thrilled

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<v Speaker 1>with what I'm doing, and sadly you just spoilt it

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<v Speaker 1>for me because I was planning to go back to

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<v Speaker 1>my hotel tonight and watch replay of the game because

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<v Speaker 1>I was trying not to know who had won. So

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<v Speaker 1>I made it this far. I'm okay. I apologize.

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<v Speaker 2>That's awful, although you know it was a super Bowl.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's okay.

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<v Speaker 2>In terms of the In terms of the f one

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<v Speaker 2>team that that you, I mean, valuations have been amazing.

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<v Speaker 2>There reports now that maybe al Alpine is looking to

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<v Speaker 2>sell a steak, and I wonder if you would be

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<v Speaker 2>interested in selling any of your steak or your team

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<v Speaker 2>at this point, because it's worth so much.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. No, I'm very satisfied with my shareholding. We're not

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<v Speaker 1>looking to sell any shares. We're looking to grow the

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<v Speaker 1>business and to do great in the sport.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's talk about the car business. I've been lucky enough

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<v Speaker 2>to have seat time in the in the Vanquish as

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<v Speaker 2>well as the Vantage and the and the DBX there.

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<v Speaker 2>They're amazing cars, and I have to say that a

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<v Speaker 2>huge alternative to Ferrari is what you offer and something

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<v Speaker 2>that has more beauty then sort of the kind of

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<v Speaker 2>technical prowess that the Italians have leaned into.

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<v Speaker 1>What do you think the market is.

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<v Speaker 2>Getting wrong about ast and Martin the business?

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<v Speaker 1>I think it's just a question of time. Not many

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<v Speaker 1>people learned about the DBX. They're actually finding out about

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<v Speaker 1>it now. They were not familiar that we even made

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<v Speaker 1>an suv because we don't historically make a product like that.

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<v Speaker 1>It's actually doing extremely well at the moment. The Vanquish,

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<v Speaker 1>as you say, is on fire. We have a fantastic

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<v Speaker 1>order book for that, as well as dB twelve and

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<v Speaker 1>as well as Vantage. So for us, it's now a

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<v Speaker 1>matter of sticking with our portfolio, growing our demand, getting

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<v Speaker 1>our dealers in place. The dealers weren't used of also

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<v Speaker 1>having such a diverse product offering from the company, particularly

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<v Speaker 1>with the launch of Valhalla, so you know, not so

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<v Speaker 1>different than Formula One. Everything takes time. I've been in

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<v Speaker 1>the road car business a similar amount the time as

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<v Speaker 1>I've been in the Formula One team, and it's also

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<v Speaker 1>a ten year journey. So we're quite pleased with where

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<v Speaker 1>we are, and we're quite pleased with the portfolio that exists.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm very excited about the portfolio it'll be coming in

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<v Speaker 1>the years to come.

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<v Speaker 2>I'd say I drove the DBX through our snowstorm in

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<v Speaker 2>New York last week and it functioned perfectly. I wouldn't

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<v Speaker 2>want to change a thing there with the vantage I

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<v Speaker 2>might like to add an extra pedal. And I wonder

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<v Speaker 2>if you've thought about leaning into the analog side of things.

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<v Speaker 2>Aston Martin has always represented like a mechanical intimacy, whereas

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<v Speaker 2>Ferrari seems to be leaning into sort of technical and

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<v Speaker 2>computational excellence. Do you think that would be a good analog.

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<v Speaker 1>We introduced two manual specials, so we already have two

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<v Speaker 1>five speeds that we've introduced in the last three years

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<v Speaker 1>to great demands. So we believe that, as you call

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<v Speaker 1>the analog is still very relative for today's particularly Aston

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<v Speaker 1>Martin customers.

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<v Speaker 2>So you don't think there's any room for a manual

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<v Speaker 2>vantage at your dealerships, because it does seem like when

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<v Speaker 2>I look through the you know, the the auctions and

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<v Speaker 2>the used car listings, they command a huge premium, sometimes

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<v Speaker 2>one hundred percent premium for a manual car over an automatic.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that's probably true. No, that's not planned for our

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<v Speaker 1>lineup at the moment.