Cadillac F1 CEO Daniel Towriss Talks Debut of Team

Summary

Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: Bloomberg Talks
Episode: Cadillac F1 CEO Daniel Towriss Talks Debut of Team
Date: February 9, 2026
Host: Bloomberg
Guest: Daniel Towriss, CEO of Cadillac Formula One

---

Episode Overview

This episode centers around Cadillac's bold entry into Formula One, an historic move for the iconic American automotive brand. Bloomberg’s journalist brings Daniel Towriss, CEO of Cadillac’s F1 team, into a candid conversation about the ambition behind their Super Bowl splash, their unique “America’s team” vision, building a competitive car from scratch, the business model of modern F1, and what it means to combine classic American brands with a global sport.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cadillac’s Entry and Early Challenges

• Building from Scratch:

  • Towriss emphasizes that Cadillac is developing everything for the first time under new F1 rules, noting the unique challenge, especially with new chassis, tires, power units, and even down to basic elements like fuel systems.
    • Quote: “For Cadillac, we're building everything for the first time. The fuel system, just all the pieces on the car. And so a lot of it was just reliability focused.” (Dan Towers, 01:13)

• Learning Curve for Drivers:

  • Both seasoned drivers (Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez) are adjusting to a drastically different car due to new regulations that reduce downforce, requiring fresh techniques especially given hybrid powertrains.
    • Quote: “There's a lot less load under the set of regulations on this car, which just means there's less downforce. The car is going to feel a little slippier to drive... Everybody's in a big learning curve right now.” (Dan Towers, 01:48)

2. The “America’s Team” Vision

• Targeting a New U.S. Fan Base:
  • Cadillac aims to leverage the U.S. F1 boom created by “Drive to Survive” and “F1: The Movie,” focusing outreach beyond traditional motorsport circles. The Super Bowl commercial was designed to ignite curiosity among average Americans, not just diehards.
    • Quote: “It's a big stage and we wanted to get to people that don't maybe consume F1 every day... The Super Bowl let us create a conversation about Cadillac Formula 1 to people who...say, wait, this team's going to be on track in 30 days. I need to check this out.” (Dan Towers, 02:24)

3. The Business Model of Modern F1

• Media & Marketing Driven:

  • Modern F1 requires not just car and engine expertise, but a full-fledged internal media company. Building a fanbase is job #1—commercial value now comes from content, storytelling, and global marketing power.
    • Quote: “You need to have a media company inside your Formula one team...you're drawing in eyeballs interest, your storytelling, you're doing all those things to create commercial value for the team. And that's essential in today's Formula One.” (Dan Towers, 04:07)

• Sponsorship Philosophy:

  • Cadlliac anchors with “American original” brands like Jim Beam and Tommy Hilfiger, intending to showcase American heritage while also mixing in global sponsors.
    • Quote: “Tommy is fantastic. Jim Beam, you know, Cadillac, these are iconic American brands...we definitely want to have those bona fide set up where we're anchored in these iconic American brands.” (Dan Towers, 04:56)

4. Cadillac’s Product-Thesis & Racing DNA

• Synergy with Product Line:
  • The new racing push aligns with Cadillac’s invigorated vehicle lineup, including street-legal performance models inspired by motorsports, strengthening both brand and product desirability.
    • Quote: “The product lineup is so strong and so there's this upward mobility from a market share standpoint in Cadillac. It's the perfect time to bring Formula One and the Cadillac car brand together.” (Dan Towers, 05:54)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On American Identity:

  • “What's more American than announcing you're showing your first ever livery than at the Super Bowl?” (Dan Towers, 03:22)

• On Changing F1 Business:

  • “If I want to speak to the diehard motorsport fan, it's very easy...the Super Bowl let us create a conversation about Cadillac Formula 1 to people who...say, wait, this team's going to be on track in 30 days. I need to check this out.” (Dan Towers, 02:24)

• On Broader Motorsport Strategy:

  • “GM is getting in a big way back into racing. Not just in F1...They have a supercharged V8 with a stick and the CT5V Blackwing. So I'm really pumped about their offerings.” (Interviewer, 05:26)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Cadillac’s First F1 Testing & Challenges: 01:13 – 01:48
• Drivers’ Feedback & Learning Curve: 01:48 – 02:11
• Capturing the New American F1 Fan: 02:24 – 03:22
• Business Model of F1 Today: 04:07 – 04:41
• Sponsorships & American Brand Strategy: 04:56 – 05:26
• Cadillac’s Market Position and Racing DNA: 05:54 – end

---

Tone & Speaker Notes

The conversation is energetic, optimistic, and exudes American pride. Towriss is candid about the challenges but bullish on Cadillac’s opportunity—emphasizing storytelling, marketing acumen, and iconic American branding as much as racing credibility.

---

Summary for Non-Listeners

If you’re new to this topic, the episode gives you a clear look at Cadillac’s ambitions in Formula One—a blend of fresh technical challenge, big-time American marketing, cross-industry sponsorship strategy, and reimagined product synergy. The CEO’s perspective is practical yet bold: Cadillac will make its name not only on the track but through media, cultural moments like the Super Bowl, and an “America’s team” branding that seeks to build a modern, diverse fanbase for the next era of F1.

Transcript

[Host/Announcer]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts, Radio news.

[Lawrence Stroll]

This set of rules is here with us for five years. So it's not about the first race or two, it's about the next five years. Again, extremely confident. We have the right people, we have the right tools, we have the right processes, we have the right partners. So I'm very confident for. Extremely confident for our future.

[Interviewer/Journalist]

So that was Lawrence Stroll, the billionaire owner of the aston Martin Aramco F1 team. He sat down with me earlier to talk about his confidence in his team leading the high stakes motorsports category. But he faces challengers including General Motors Cadillac, which just unveiled its 4 into F1 with a splashy super bowl commercial featuring the new livery. And joining us now live on the set is Dan Towers, the CEO of Cadillac Formula One. And this is a high stakes league here. Dan, very cool to see Cadillac GM coming into this sport, especially at the same time as Ford, its crosstown rival, enters the scene. But tell us about what your expectations are now because you've had testing, if I'm not mistaken, in Barcelona and you're just about half testing in Bahrain with your, with your.

[Dan Towers]

Yeah. So for us, Barcelona was mostly shakedown. So it's testing a lot of new systems and everybody's talked about the fact that it's a new, a new chassis, so a new set of regulations, new tires, new power units. But for us, for Cadillac, we're building everything for the first time. The fuel system, you know, just all the pieces on the car. And so a lot of it was just reliability focused. As we go into Bahrain this week, we're very excited to now start to push the limits of the car and to see what we see, what we have.

[Interviewer/Journalist]

You have incredibly experienced drivers right in Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez. What did they make of the car? And you know, what kind of feedback did you get from those superstars?

[Dan Towers]

Well, I think some of their feedback similar to the other drivers, there's a lot less load under the set of regulations on this car, which just means there's less downforce. The car is going to feel a little slippier to drive and it's going to be a whole new technique as they figure out how to use this power unit with the electrification piece and the combustion piece, you know, combined. So again, it's a very different, it's a very different car to drive this year. And so everybody's in a big learning curve right now.

[Interviewer/Journalist]

And I mean, to that point, to that learning curve, you're a newcomer in this space. I know that you've said previously that you want to be America's team in F1. And I wonder, you know, what you see that looking like if your vision is actualized.

[Dan Towers]

So it's really leaning into, you know, a new fan base. If you think about the success that drive to survive has had, or F1 the movie, which is, you know, crushed every record, it's created a lot of F1 curious fans in the US and that was really the thought behind the super bowl commercial. It's a big stage and we wanted to get to people that don't maybe consume F1 every day. If I want to speak to the diehard motorsport fan, it's very easy to that, you know, media ecosystem is very developed. The super bowl let us create a conversation about Cadillac Formula one to people who, like I said, saw the movie, thought it was interesting and say, wait, this team's going to be on track in 30 days. I need to check this out.

[Interviewer/Journalist]

Well, that gets a little bit to what I was wondering, which is why a Super bowl commercial, I mean, you take a look at some of the numbers. On average, I believe super bowl ads were $8 million. We heard some reports that they got to $10 million for 30 seconds. I mean, why was it important to sort of have your debut at the super bowl, so to speak?

[Dan Towers]

Yeah, it's really just that big audience. I think it's also just, you know, it's. It's this cultural moment in sports. The super bowl has become so much, you know, about the ads as much as the game, you know, depending who you talk to. And again, so this let us have that platform to reach the F1 curious to reach a new fan base for Cadillac Formula 1 to say that we're coming and lets us kind of put that American spin, this bold American team. I mean, what's more American than announcing you're showing your first ever livery than at the Super Bowl?

[Interviewer/Journalist]

Talk to us about the business of Formula One and really the business of racing, because you've been involved in motorsports for a solid decade now with Game Ridge, with Andretti, now twg. So how do you make money in this sport?

[Dan Towers]

Well, you know, it starts with growing a fan base, which is really was job number one with the super bowl commercial. Building up the fan base and then, you know, taking those metrics and reaching out to sponsors and building up that piece. And so it's, you know, you have a marketing machine. I mean, really, when you think about today's modern F1, you know, it's, yeah, you've got the team, maybe you have a power unit company, you need to have a media company inside your Formula one team as well, because you're marketing to the world, you're creating content, you're creating, you're drawing in eyeballs interest, your storytelling, you're doing all those things to create commercial value for the team. And that's essential in today's Formula One.

[Interviewer/Journalist]

By the way, Checo and Botas are perfect for that.

[Dan Towers]

I mean, absolutely.

[Interviewer/Journalist]

Valteri is an amazing storyteller in his own right. What did you, what was your strategy when you grouped these brands together? Because I see like an American heritage line here through Jim Beam and Tommy Hilfiger, for example.

[Dan Towers]

Yeah, absolutely. I think as we think about what does it mean to be, you know, American, we want to have these iconic American brands, these American originals that really create a, you know, a foundational pillar in our, in our sponsorship ecosystem. And I mean, Tommy is fantastic. Jim Beam, you know, Cadillac, these are iconic American brands. And so, you know, Formula One is a global business, so we're going to want to have non American brands on the car as well. But we definitely want to have those bona fide set up where we're anchored in these iconic American brands.

[Interviewer/Journalist]

What do you make of the sort of win on Sunday, sell on Monday mantra from the 50s and 60s? I mean, GM is getting in a big way back into racing. Not just in F1. I went to Le Mans with Mark Royce and crew and watched their hypercar there, which was amazing to see. But they also have, you know, vehicle, vehicles that nobody else can produce. Right now they have a supercharged V8 with a stick and the CT5V Blackwing. So I'm really pumped about their offerings.

[Dan Towers]

Yeah, no, the product line is just spectacular. Was actually after one of the, the F1 board meetings, Cadillac, they brought out every car in the lineup and we just spent the afternoon driving them. And so the product lineup is so strong and so there's this upward mobility from a market share standpoint in Cadillac. It's the perfect time to bring Formula one and the Cadillac car brand together.