I'd love to first just get a a little
bit of a background check on how you got
into this business from running
Gamebridge from being an insurance
executive to now running teams across
NASCAR, Indie Car, and starting next
year Formula 1.
>> Yeah. So, it really started in
sponsorship, you know, with the team and
a a partnership with Andredy. But then
kind of when we look at TWWG Global, the
parent um of our company and what Mark
Walters built in a sports media company,
we saw we saw a a thesis in motorsport
to, you know, to get involved and you
know to really focus on Formula 1, but
not just Formula 1, it's really every
major motorsport globally from
Australian M8 supercars to sports cars,
NASCAR, Indie Car, Formula E, um and now
Formula 1. So we're very excited about
that. So, it's it's I think really cool
that you have the resume you do because
I always when I talk to Mark Royce, I
ask him, "How do you convert motorsports
fans into buyers of Chevys, Cadillacs,
Corvettes, what have you." Um, you know,
because you run this insurance company
and that's how you get your start here.
I guess you've had great experience in
doing those conversions. Now, you hire
people like Valter Boas. I want to take
a look at the tweet that he put out uh
this morning. This is a guy who not only
is he an incredibly talented driver,
obviously a a Grand Prix winner. Um, but
he knows marketing, too. This is what he
posted this morning. I guess it
dedication to an American brand here.
>> Yeah, we're so excited about these two.
I mean, they're both, you know,
characters. Um, you know, they have
storyried careers in Formula 1, but
they're not done. This is the next
chapter. You know, they're the chosen
two for the Cadillac Formula 1 team to
hit the grid in in 2026, and we're super
excited about them. So, how long are you
giving the team before you expect that
you're going to win a race or a
championship? You
>> know, it is going to be a process. I
mean, Formula 1's the pinnacle of
motorsport. It's so difficult. The
smallest difference can make a huge
difference on track, but I think that's
where their experience comes in. You
know, we'll have over a thousand people
working on this team. And so, a lot of
times people just think about the driver
of the car, but it's a team sport, you
know, and so that leadership and
experience, knowing what to expect for a
brand new team. So even though we have
all these experienced people in Formula
1, they've got to work together. We've
got to build team chemistry and so
Czecho and Valtry, you know, are the
perfect choice to help, you know, just
bring that experience, give feedback on
the car, get the team working together.
They know what to expect. They've been
there before.
>> So you're going to kick it off with
Ferrari powertrains.
you bring your own uh Cadillac
powertrains in a few years down the
road, but I'm guessing you're going to
have to pay almost half a billion
dollars um to get in and then what $250
a year. How long until you think you can
become champions, you know, um it's
going to take a few years, but um you
we're very excited about that. We're
committed to this process. It is a
multi-billion dollar investment in
total. you know, we'll have over 600,000
square feet of manufacturing under roof
in the US between Indianapolis and
Charlotte and between the team and the
power unit company. Um, and all those
people working together. We also have a
base of operations in Silverson. So,
this is a global operation for Cadillac
Formula 1. Um, and so really when we hit
the grid, you know, it's a new chassis
and a new power unit next year. So, it
kind of mixes up the competitive
landscape in Formula 1. And so, we get
to figure out where, you know, where do
we stack up against these teams? none of
these cars will have been on the track,
you know, together when we get there.
And then what I'll be looking at is what
is our, you know, what does our progress
look like? What's the upward trajectory
of that team? Because that really gets
to the question of how long till we win
till we run a race, you know, how long
till we get on a podium. But the
ambitions for this team are high and uh
the resources are tremendous. And so
together with General Motors, with Mark
Royce and the tremendous team there,
Mary and Mark, you know, we're going to
be working hard to make sure that that
we're competing at the top of the food
chain in Formula 1. I wonder what this
means for the Cadillac brand because all
right, they have had um in the past I
guess the monster in the 1950s at um
Leal and of course I just went to Lal
this year to see them with team Joda and
their hypercar is amazing but um you
don't you hadn't previously thought
about them as um a sports car brand.
Obviously, they had the CTS-V and now
they have the Blackwing, which are, you
know, creme de la creme. But
>> what do you think this does for Cadillac
sales?
>> Well, I think is they're really pushing
technology and innovation, you know,
with this new series of cars that
they're that they're coming out with.
And I think, you know, Cadillac
continues to see their market share
increasing, you know, rap quite rapidly.
So, I think it's the perfect time for
Cadillac to come into Formula 1 to
really even start to push a younger
demographic that we're seeing, you know,
the growth in Formula 1. And so, uh, and
so I think as I've talked to, to fans,
everyone has a Cadillac story, you know,
and so there's a strong connection to
that brand. So, combined with the new
products that Cadillac's coming out
with, and then the relevancy of being in
Formula 1 competing against Mercedes,
Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, and the
likes. I think it's a it's a good
combination for Cadillac
>> and going to be an amazing rivalry with
Ford. I mean, I was thinking at le
Ford goes into the hypercar. Uh, but
that's only for like niche like totally
dedicated car freaks. This is F1 now. I
mean, one of the most
>> popular in America. It's up there with
NASCAR now, I think. Um, and Ford's
going to enter F1 next year, too. So,
how do you feel about that uh cross town
rivalry, GM versus,
>> you know, it's interesting? It's it's
very different. I think Ford's
partnership with Red Bull is at a much
different level. I think what we have
with GM here is an is an equity
partnership, not a sponsorship. their
integration. They're leading the power
unit development. They're not assisting
in the power unit development. So, the
participation of GM and Cadillac in this
versus Ford and Red Bull, very, very
different. But yet, you still have these
American Motorsport powers, automobile,
you know, powers, you know, going
head-to-head. But then when you think
about you've got one in seven Americans
that identify as a fan in Formula 1.
That's over 50 million Americans say
they're a fan of Formula 1, but they're
not yet watching races. So the real key
is going to be how do we convert those
fans into race watching fans? How do we
convert them into Cadillac fans which I
think will then we'll they'll see the
bump in, you know, car sales.