Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: An iconic American luxury brand is joining Formula One next year.
Speaker 2: GM's Cadillac team will make its debut with two superstar drivers,
Speaker 2: ten time Grand Prix winner Valteri Botas and six time
Speaker 2: Grand Prix winner Sergio Checko Perez here with us now
Speaker 2: is Cadillac f One CEO Dan Towis. It's great to
Speaker 2: have you here with us. I'd love to first just
Speaker 2: get a little bit of a background check on how
Speaker 2: you got into this business, from running Gamebridge, from being
Speaker 2: an insurance executive to now running teams across NASCAR, IndyCar
Speaker 2: and starting next to year Formula one.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: So it really started in sponsorship, you know, with the
Speaker 4: team and a partnership with Andretti. But then kind of
Speaker 4: when we look at TWG Global, the parent of our company,
Speaker 4: and what Mark Walter is built in a sports media company,
Speaker 4: we saw a thesis in motorsport to you know, to
Speaker 4: get involved, and you know it's really focused on Formula one,
Speaker 4: but not just Formula One. It's really every major motorsport globally,
Speaker 4: from ULSTRAI, NBA supercars, to sports cars, NASCAR, Indiecar, Formulae
Speaker 4: and now Formula one, so we're very excited about that.
Speaker 2: So it's it's I think really cool that you have
Speaker 2: the resume you do, because I was when I talked
Speaker 2: to Mark Royce, I asked him, how do you convert
Speaker 2: motorsports fans into buyers of Chevy's Cadillacs corvettes? What have you?
Speaker 3: You know?
Speaker 2: Because you run this insurance company and that's how you
Speaker 2: get your start here. I guess you've had great experience
Speaker 2: in doing those conversions. Now you hire people like Valcheri Botas.
Speaker 2: I want to take a look at the tweet that
Speaker 2: he put out this morning. This is a guy who
Speaker 2: not only is he an incredibly talented driver, obviously a
Speaker 2: Grand Prix winner, but he knows marketing too.
Speaker 3: This is what he posted this more. I guess he
Speaker 3: gets it. He's a education to an American brand. Here.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we're so excited about these two. I mean, they're
Speaker 4: both you know, characters. You know, they have storied careers
Speaker 4: in Formula one, but they're not done.
Speaker 3: This is the next chapter. You know.
Speaker 4: They're the chosen two for the Cadillac Formula One team
Speaker 4: to hit the grid in twenty twenty six, and we're
Speaker 4: super excited about them.
Speaker 1: So how long are you giving the team before you
Speaker 1: expect that you're going to win a race or a championship.
Speaker 4: No, it is going to be a process. I mean,
Speaker 4: Formula one is the pinnacle of motorsport. It's so difficult.
Speaker 4: The smallest difference can make a huge difference on track.
Speaker 4: But I think that's where their experience comes in. You know,
Speaker 4: we'll have over a thousand people working on this team,
Speaker 4: and so a lot of times people just think about
Speaker 4: the driver of the car. But it's a team sport,
Speaker 4: you know, and so that leadership and experience knowing what
Speaker 4: to expect for a brand new team. So even though
Speaker 4: we have all these experienced people in Formula one, they've
Speaker 4: got to work together. We've got to build team chemistry,
Speaker 4: and so check O and Valtry, you know, are the
Speaker 4: perfect choice to help. You know, just bring that experience,
Speaker 4: get feedback on the car, get the team working together.
Speaker 4: They know what to expect, they've been there before.
Speaker 2: So you're going to kick it off with Ferrari power trains.
Speaker 2: You bring your own Cadillac power trains in a few
Speaker 2: years down the road. But I'm guessing you're gonna have
Speaker 2: to pay almost half a billion dollars to get in
Speaker 2: and then what two point fifty a year?
Speaker 3: How long until you think you can become champions?
Speaker 4: You know it's going to take a few years, but
Speaker 4: we're very excited about that. We're committed to this process.
Speaker 4: It is a multi billion dollar investment in total. You know,
Speaker 4: we'll have over six hundred thousand square feet of manufacturing
Speaker 4: under roof in the US between Indianapolis and Charlotte, between
Speaker 4: the team and the power unit company and all those
Speaker 4: people working together. We also have a base of operations
Speaker 4: in Silverston, so this is a global operation for Cadillac
Speaker 4: Formula one and so really when we hit the grid,
Speaker 4: you know, it's a new chassis and a new power
Speaker 4: unit next year, so it kind of mixes up the
Speaker 4: competitive landscape in Formula one, and so we get to
Speaker 4: figure out where, you know, where do we stack up
Speaker 4: against these teams. None of these cars will have been
Speaker 4: on the track together when we get there, and then
Speaker 4: what I'll be looking at is what does our you know,
Speaker 4: what does our progress look like? What's the upward trajectory
Speaker 4: of that team? Because that really gets to the question
Speaker 4: of how long till we run a race? You know,
Speaker 4: how long till we get on a podium. But the
Speaker 4: ambitions for this team are high and the resources are tremendous,
Speaker 4: and so together with General Motors, with Mark Royce and
Speaker 4: the tremendous team there, Mary and Mark, you know, we're
Speaker 4: going to be working hard to make sure that we're
Speaker 4: competing at the top of the food chain in Formula one.
Speaker 2: I wonder what this means for the Cadillac brand, because
Speaker 2: all right, they have had in the past, I guess
Speaker 2: the Monster in the nineteen fifties at Lamar and of
Speaker 2: course I just went to Lamal this year to see
Speaker 2: them with Team Joda and their hypercar is amazing. But
Speaker 2: you don't you hadn't previously thought about them as a
Speaker 2: sports car brand. Obviously they had the CTSV and now
Speaker 2: they have the Black Wing, which are you know, Krem
Speaker 2: de la Crem.
Speaker 3: But what do you think this does for Cadillac sales?
Speaker 4: Well, I think it's they're really pushing technology and innovation,
Speaker 4: you know, with this news series of cars that they're
Speaker 4: that they're coming out with, and I think, you know,
Speaker 4: Cadillac continues to see their market share increasing, you know,
Speaker 4: wrap quite rapidly, So I think it's the perfect time
Speaker 4: for Cadillac to come into Formula one to really even
Speaker 4: start to push a younger demographic that we're seeing, you know,
Speaker 4: the growth in Formula one and so and so. I think,
Speaker 4: as I've talked two fans, everyone has a Cadillac story,
Speaker 4: you know, and so there's a strong connection to that brand.
Speaker 4: So combined with the new products that Cadillac's coming out with,
Speaker 4: and then the relevancy of being in Formula one competing
Speaker 4: against Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston, Martin and the likes, I
Speaker 4: think it's a It's a good combination for.
Speaker 2: Cadillac and gonna be an amazing rivalry with Ford. I mean,
Speaker 2: I was thinking of Lamm about how cool it will
Speaker 2: be when Ford goes into the HyperCard. But that's only
Speaker 2: for like niche like totally dedicated car freaks. This is
Speaker 2: F one now, I mean, one of the most popular
Speaker 2: in America.
Speaker 3: It's up there with NASCAR now, I think. And Ford's
Speaker 3: going to enter one next year too.
Speaker 2: So how do you feel about that Crosstown rivalry GM versus.
Speaker 4: You know, it's interesting, it's very different. I think Ford's
Speaker 4: partnership with Red Bull is at a much different level.
Speaker 4: I think what we have with GM. Here is is
Speaker 4: an equity partnership, not a sponsorship. They're integration, they're leading
Speaker 4: the power unit development, They're not assisting in the power
Speaker 4: unit development. So the participation of GM and Cadillac in
Speaker 4: this versus Ford and Red Bull very very different. But yeah,
Speaker 4: you still have these American motorsport powers, automobile you know powers,
Speaker 4: you know, going.
Speaker 3: Head to head.
Speaker 4: But then when you think about you've got one in
Speaker 4: seven Americans that identify as a fan in Formula ones.
Speaker 4: That's over fifty million Americans say they're a fan of
Speaker 4: Formula one, but they're not yet watching races. So the
Speaker 4: real key is going to be how do we convert
Speaker 4: those fans into race watching fans. How do we convert
Speaker 4: them into Cadillac fans, which I think will then they'll
Speaker 4: see the bump in you know, in car sales.
Speaker 3: All Right, I'm pretty excited.
Speaker 2: I know you can you tell Katie, you can tell yes, Dan,
Speaker 2: thanks so much for joining us, Dan Towers there of
Speaker 2: Cadillac F one