When Susie Wolff took the wheel as managing director of F1 Academy, she knew she had a monumental challenge ahead. With all 10 Formula 1 teams already on board—and Cadillac set to join the grid in 2027—her real task was finding six primary sponsors to fill the remaining liveries. It was a race against time, and the starting gun fired on January 1st.
"I woke up that morning and thought, 'How am I going to get six sponsors on board by March?'" Wolff recalled during a candid interview with Talks at Google. She turned to her husband, Toto Wolff, voicing her anxiety. His response? "You'll figure it out." It's the kind of vote of confidence that can feel more like pressure than praise. "I hate it when people say that," she admitted, "because they have this belief that I will somehow figure it out. In that moment, I didn't think I knew how."
But figure it out she did. Through a friend of a friend, Wolff connected with Charlotte Tilbury, the iconic makeup brand. "Within four minutes of the first conversation, I knew we were going to do something," she said. That partnership became the biggest sports sponsorship announcement of the year—and it was the spark that ignited a firestorm of interest.
"Suddenly, the momentum came," Wolff explained. "Everyone talked about that partnership." The floodgates opened. Tommy Hilfiger, a longtime presence in motorsport, was next. "I called him, and he said, 'I'm with you.'" Then came American Express, followed by Puma. "It was just a momentum," she said. "The wheels started turning, and suddenly it all came together."
For Wolff, the journey was a masterclass in perseverance. "There were still moments of being a team that has to come up with new solutions," she reflected. "It has to find a way. It was tough at times because I was navigating something completely new. It's all very nice to now sit on a stage and say, 'Well, look where we are now.'" But for the fashion and sportswear fans watching, the message is clear: when the right partnership clicks, it can transform an entire series—and the gear that drives it.