Mark Stewart’s Race Against Dementia Using Formula 1 Focus

0:01Mark Stewart:We talked about music earlier, you know, I love watching live bands and you see them work together and you see the talents come out and you see how hard they work to make it look easy. And that's a similar thing with sports and any business. It's knuckle down and get on with it and you'll be surprised. You'll surprise yourself. Welcome to Brave Bold Brilliant. I'm here today with Mark Stewart, who is the chair of Race Against Dementia. He's also the owner of Mark Stewart Productions. Nice to see you, Mark. Great to see you. Thank you for having me. Well, listen, we're going to have a really heartwarming, tough conversation, interesting conversation, obviously about dementia, but also I think about your kind of experience as a family as well and sort of how things have kind of played out for you guys.

0:52But before I jump into that, I just wanted to relay some of those big numbers. Well, actually, you could probably tell us the big numbers that people might not know, Mark. I was looking on the website earlier and it's quite shocking, actually, when we dive into dementia, just the scale and the number of people affected by this really cruel disease. So, yeah, do you want to give us some of the highlighted numbers, Mark? And then we can kind of jump into there in terms of the charity and what you do.

1:23Mark Stewart:I think the one number is most important is one out of every three people born today will die with dementia and have dementia in their lifetime. It's a frightening number. And today there's not been much sort of a cure, if you like, or a way of understanding it. That's what we're doing at Race Against Dementia. We're looking for a cure. We're looking for a way to a new way of doing business, if you like. Not say everybody else in the research that's been going on in the past has been, say, wrong or anything else. But it's one of the most under has been one of the most underfunded medical issues because it's been deemed as too complicated, too difficult in the past.

2:09Mark Stewart:but now there's a much bigger energy to look for ways to deal with it because realizing the numbers are getting worryingly high and the cost of managing somebody with dementia is very high whether they have to go to a home or whether the family have to give up their jobs in order to take care of their family member etc so it's it's a real issue that needs to be uh thought and what What we're doing, and we're fighting it by funding young, well, I'll say fellowships for researchers all over the world. And we have, I think, about 90 plus projects or people that we're funding as we speak and have done over the last 10 years.

2:54Mark Stewart:And we are already really, you know, putting holes into the problem and poking and doing things that have never been done before, for utilizing technologies that have never been used before. And, you know, what we're doing as a charity is using that Formula One mindset. And that Formula One mindset is hugely important. It's one of the best problem, if not the best problem solving business out there. They have to and they have to evolve and develop as the season goes on. So it's not just making a wonderful car for the 2026 season. It's constantly updating it and making it better and improving things, whether it be an engine, whether it be mechanical grip or anything else, or it may be in the pit stops and managing how they do things and how people work together as a team to make those hundreds and thousands of seconds come on your side.

3:56Mark Stewart:and there's a lot we can learn because that mindset of problem solving and and having things in the right place so that you're not you know bumping into each other effectively or or you know and all of those things really do help in formula one on top of that we're actually utilizing you know there's a couple of cases where mclaren have been super helpful with us where we're using their predictive technology together with one of our

4:25Mark Stewart:fellows and we're already doing some incredible work there where you know it's speeded up the process of let's say a petri dish test and we can do it maybe eight times quicker and and do it eight times as many now whereas that's already a development and that came from the formula one side of the technology so it's not just being a great flag waver for the charity and the problem and, you know, and awareness. But it's actually, you know, we're actually working together with, you know, whether it be some of the teams, obviously, McLaren I just mentioned, Williams, Red Bull, you know, some wonderful teams out there, Aston Martin, et cetera, and starting to talk to people like Ferrari.

5:08Mark Stewart:And they're all really invested in this. They really actually appreciate because everybody's touched by dementia. and it is a, you know, I don't think you know, you say, oh, yeah, my brother or my mother or my dad or my uncle, you know, everybody knows somebody who's been touched with dementia and they know how painful it can be and how, you know, yeah, painful, I think is the right word. Yeah, 100%. I mean, you are doing incredible work. And, of course, it comes from a very personal place, doesn't it, for you as a family? and the charity was originally set up by your father, Sir Jackie Stewart.

5:47OBE, we mustn't forget the OBE, must we, Mark, in terms of that. And, you know, your mum, Helen, obviously, you know, with the dementia and you as a family, how you're kind of coping with all of that. But do you want to just take us back a little bit in terms of how things started and evolved, you know, kind of family life pre, if you like, for you guys. And then obviously with the diagnosis that your mum had in 2014, I think your mum was diagnosed. Is that correct? It's a while ago now.

6:20Mark Stewart:Yeah, I mean, we started noticing problems and we didn't understand what it was and then she was eventually diagnosed. And when my father found out she had, you know, she's got dementia and in fact she has frontal temporal dementia, um okay so what do we need to do about it who do we need to see uh you know what's available out there and when the doctor said listen there's nothing you know and then my father would go around and ask different people said well surely there must be something out there and there was nothing um and my father i mean you mentioned earlier you know sir jackie stewart obe uh you know he got his uh uh got these really these recognitions because of what he's done for the safety in motorsport, what he's done in Whistler as a sportsman, but also what he's done for charity.

7:09Mark Stewart:And, you know, he's one of those people that he sees a problem, whether it be safety in Formula One or dyslexia or dementia. He said, well, it can't be that we have to do something about this. And so he started Race Against Dementia in this particular case 10 years ago, where, you know, this is not only to try to hopefully find a cure for my mother, but going, wow, this is something that needs to be helped and we need to, you know, make people aware, but also try and tackle the problem hands on. And with all these fellowships that we've now over 10 years now, this is our 10th year. We have done so much and we are breaking new ground and we're adding to that, you know, energy that's required to find a cure.

7:59Mark Stewart:And now with AI and these, you know, we talked about Formula One earlier, there's and repurposing drugs we're able to do so much more but my mother you know who was the matriarch of her family i mean i always say uh there are two world champions in my family uh there's my mother and then there's my father um you know everybody knows about jackie stewart but you know behind every successful man there's there's probably even more important women behind And I've always recognized that. She was inside the racetrack when he was racing at a time when motor racing was dangerous, massively dangerous. And if you got through a week at race weekend without somebody being killed, that was a success.

8:47Mark Stewart:And so for my mother, sitting on the sidelines, doing all the lap charts, not for just my dad and the team, but also comparing what they're doing on the track compared to other drivers, et cetera, with one stopwatch. She was amazing with that. But also having to cope with that stress, essentially, and then dealing with wives that were losing husbands and then having to pack their bags for them and help them. So my mother has contributed not only to my father's career and everything else, but she's had to take an awful lot through her life. So I really do admire her. And as a mother, she's even better.

9:32Mark Stewart:And she's been a wonderful mother to Paul and I. And we're very lucky to have her. She's done so much for us. So therefore, now it's our turn to take care of her and to make sure she's been given the best care as possible. Yeah, I mean, it is. I guess, you know, I think what you're doing is absolutely wonderful as a family and it is a family, a family venture, all of this and clearly coming from a very personal space. But just interesting then, as you were talking, Mark, what was spinning through my mind was around what's perceived as a glamorous sport. Right. You know, we've got the brands, we've got the you've got the victories, you've got all of that going on and the pace and the energy.

10:16but actually what you've just described there is a very different side to the sport certainly back then where literally I mean people are dying you know they go to work they get in the race car they go off and and actually there's another side and the strength that your mum showed through all of that to support and help you know people that have maybe lost their husbands um really is is testament to her as a, you know, as a human being with a big heart and caring, not just about, you know, winning the race, which is what people would see probably in the public arena, but not what goes on behind the scenes.

10:55Mark Stewart:You know, behind the scenes, like you say, you know, my mother held a, you know, if you look at some photographs of my mother in the day, sitting on the pit wall, I mean, some beautiful, beautiful woman, you know, and her and Nina Rint, for example, you know, just a lot of people, they were most photographed people on the grid. It was wonderful, you know. But, you know, my dad, you know, didn't just sit there and race. He realized how dangerous it was. And when he saw that, he said, well, we've got to do something about this and sort of essentially created a union with the drivers, you know, with Graham Hill and Joe Bonnier and these racing drivers who are no longer with us.

11:38Mark Stewart:John Bonio was killed in a racing car, but Graham Hill was killed in a plane crash. But all these drivers got together and said, right, well, if you're not going to fix these problems and put barriers in the right place or remove trees where you're coming at 200 and something miles an hour into a corner and there's a tree to hit, that's the only thing. That's what killed Jim Clark, for example, a tree. It's not only the drivers, it was the public. So my father was brave enough to go against all of these sort of important people who ran the track and he ran the sort of Formula One at the time. And not just Formula One, but racetracks.

12:22Mark Stewart:And they were saying, no, you just race and get on. We'll take care of the rest. They just didn't care. So eventually they put their foot down and said, right, this is not happening anymore. And they stopped Nürburgring one year because they just weren't listening. And I think that got people's attention. And today Formula One is probably one of the safest sports out there, really. I mean, think about the speeds and the crashes that they have, and they walk away in most cases. So my father's always been trying to solve problems out there. And I think that this one is his newest one, dementia. And it's, what, 10 years old now.

12:58Mark Stewart:But it comes from my mother, who has got her frontal temporal dementia.

13:09Mark Stewart:But it's now turning a negative into a positive. And turning that really sad bit of news and realizing there was nothing we could do. Well, my father said, well, I'm going to do something about it. I am going to do something. And has. And he puts his money where his mouth is. And we're invested as a family, not, you know, obviously this is something for 10 years. My dad's very much invested in it. And we won't be able to save my mother, but we might be able to save children, you know, or ourselves maybe in the future. And already today, there's some amazing leaps going, you know, in the right direction for finding a cure.

13:48Mark Stewart:But the biggest problem with dementia is it's not just one problem. You know, there's 200 plus types of dementia out there. So we're not just looking in one place. We're not just looking, you know, there's specialists in frontal temporal dementia, which my mother has, for example. Then you've got vascular dementia, you've got Lewy body, you've got, I mean, Alzheimer's obviously is the most famous one, really. But, you know, there's infant dementia, there's younger people, there's dementia that are caused by hereditary for hereditary reasons, etc. So we want to know why as well. So we're not just looking at finding a cure, but also understanding why is it we're getting these dementias?

14:30Mark Stewart:It's a disease. So therefore, there's something we can do about it. And we're starting to understand that a little bit more, maybe how the gut affects the brain and what goes through our systems, inflammation, etc. So we are making some really interesting inroads now. And it is complicated. You know, I mean, I mentioned before we pressed record, you know, my mum has vascular dementia, you know, and it is heartbreaking. It's really heartbreaking for her, for us, you know, and we take the positives. You know, if you have a good visit and, you know, she still remembers us, she still recognises us, not all the grandkids.

15:05And there's a lot of them. So we kind of say, well, she probably can't remember those, all their names even way back, you know. But when, and she's still in there, you know, sometimes she'll come out with something that's just hilarious and you think the spirit's still there or she'll be like super clear, super clear on one particular point. And then the next thing she might say, oh, what's that baby doing in the corner over there? You know, and it does, it flips like, you know, and sometimes the high emotion, language that mum would never use before that's quite, oh, right, okay. Yeah. And it's tough.

15:44It's tough when you see a loved one.

15:45Mark Stewart:I always say my kids learned how to swear through my mother. I mean, she came out. I mean, she's never swore. She always told Paul and I never, you know, she was always pretty strict on that, as well as my dad. But she comes out with some amazing things now. I mean, she's more closed in now. It's, you know, we went through this period where you have these good days and bad days. And there are still good days and bad days, but the bad days are more overtaking the good days. She recognizes me when I come in and I see her, but often asks me, he says, well, have you got a girlfriend? You know, I got married, you know, 32 years ago.

16:24Mark Stewart:So we have five children. And when I tell her that, you know, in fact, there was a funny story. My mother, we're sitting at lunch and she goes, so have you got a girlfriend, Mark? And she says, yeah, I do, actually. And in fact, we got married and her name's Anne. and we've had five kids together you know and you know the kids she looks at my father and she goes well nobody told me like that you know and it was one of those moments which was but then when she's with her grandkids and ann and myself and all that she knows there's a relationship that she just has difficulty with me she knows it's me with ann she you know when she'll see Anne she'll go oh hello Anne you know sometimes sometimes she doesn't know who and how that person is placed and you know like she asked her son Andreas the other day she goes are you are you a family member she asked that question but you know it's there's more negatives and there are positives I'm afraid and that and that's very painful and we have you know my mother cannot do anything on her own now there's nothing that she can do everything she can't walk she can't you know do all the things that we take for granted she cannot do those and she hasn't been able to do them for a while you know and so it's it's it's tough it's not just old age by the way you know people say oh it's just an old age thing we're living longer and that's why we're getting it no it's a disease there is a problem something's happening and and we need to try and figure out how we can find a cure.

18:01Yeah, no, 100%. And a lot of what you're talking about there, I'm kind of nodding and I'm going, yeah, I recognize that as well. And we're talking about one in three people born today will die from dementia if we don't find a cure. And also, I think the other thing is, the cost of the economy. I know on the website, there's an absolutely mind-blowing number where from the global economic impact by 2030 will exceed$2.8 trillion. So, you know, there's a huge cost emotionally and financially to society, of course. And like you say, unfortunately, timing isn't in our favour for our mums, but actually next generation.

18:46And it sounds like you're making some phenomenal progress with the research. And Mark, are you able to share maybe some of those sort of insights that are coming through some of those pieces of research? I appreciate it's complex and there's a lot in there, but are there any sort of kind of glimmers that are coming through the research that give us some hope, you know, for where we're moving to?

19:09Mark Stewart:Well, I mean, now and again, you read things in the news as well. There's found a new drug and, you know, can do something or repurposing of drugs. So that's another really interesting point, you know. something came out about shingles the other day and they had done a test about 300 ,000 people and they realized that this particular drug that was for shingles improved, gave about 25 % improvement on people with Alzheimer's. So, you know, and so we understand why that is. And, you know, we look at, okay, that's interesting. Let's try and see what within that drug, what we can utilize to improve it, whether it be an AIDS, for example.

19:52Mark Stewart:One of our fellows, Sam Nightingale in South Africa, used to work with AIDS and now is working on dementia. And you realize that there's similar things happen to a human brain when somebody has AIDS. and if we are able to live with AIDS today because of incredible research and drugs, well, maybe we can see what component of that drug helps reduce the dementia side in a normal patient, a non-age patient, if you like. So, I mean, going to our labs, for instance, Edinburgh with Claire Durant, And, you know, she's using human brain that's been discarded by tumors with the permission of the patient.

20:40Mark Stewart:You know, they had to remove part of the brain in order to get a tumor so they can take that piece of brain and slice it up and run all sorts of tests. They keep the brain alive in a special solution for a long time so they can run these tests and see what different, try different things out on the brain. So these are the types of people I really admire. And, you know, in Cambridge, we're looking at frontal temporal dementia with Mauro Malpetti, one of our fellows there. And it really is inspiring. You see what they're doing. In fact, the optimism comes for me is when I meet our fellows and see what they're working on and how they, you know, how excited they are.

21:20Mark Stewart:Breakthroughs, I mean, it's going to be a wee while yet. I mean, the brain is a very complex piece of kit. And I say, wow. I think that while has been narrowed down because of AI, I think we're going to be able to do things much quicker than we were in the past. And so I'm really hoping that once we bring those energies together properly and start working and then closing that hole, that problem quicker is going to be super important. You know, it took a long time to get cancer sorted out, but they're pretty much on top of that now. And I think we can do the same with dementia now. And that energy needs to come and that funding needs to come in order to make it possible.

22:07Mark Stewart:So breakthroughs, you know, I wish I could say to somebody, yep, yep, we got this. It's fantastic. It might help a certain dementia, but it might help only a certain amount of people within that area. It's so complex that the brain is so difficult. and the shuttle there was a company working on this shuttle they called it to it because the brain automatically rejects drugs apparently and and if you introduce something into a brain the brain goes that doesn't belong here and it will kick it out therefore to try and break that brain blood barrier is also a very important um uh research that's going on as we speak now and And there's a little way to go, but there's a lot of energy going into these various areas.

22:53Mark Stewart:But also prevention, understanding why in the first place. Why is this increasing? Why has it become such a big problem? It's not just because we're living longer. Something else is going on. Let's figure out what that is. Could it be our gut? Could it be the gut biome as part of the contributive vector? Could it be air quality? Could it be a trauma? you know it's trauma is quite interesting actually because trauma doesn't necessarily just mean a hit on the head it can be stress it can be loneliness it can be all sorts of different things that cause these traumas it can and it can be diet that causes issues so uh so where we are going i mean the best person to speak to is our is our fellows because i find it fascinating i can sit with them and go okay we're in the right we're in the right track here you know.

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25:39Yeah, you've got some of the best brains in the world working on this, right, with the research. And like you say, it's not that there's no silver bullet with any of this, is there? But actually, the more we understand, the more we learn, the more chance that there is to find that cure that we're looking for, or at least a road towards some of the prevention as well. And I think that's so important. And Mark, what you've got, you mentioned some really big brands that have been supporting you throughout. And obviously the link to F1 and kind of the, you know, the sport itself has been hugely supportive.

26:16And that F1 mindset that you have an approach to kind of, you know, it is a race. It is a race. And we need to have that focus and discipline around the approach. But what would you like to see more of, you know, from from business or from government? What do you think we need in order to really obviously funding is one thing clearly. But, you know, I think there's a lot of almost people are embarrassed to even talk about dementia because, you know, There's a lack of understanding, a lack of appreciation. I'm just wondering, you know, from a society, from a business point of view, from a government point of view, what are the things that you would like to see over and above what you're already doing to support all of the whole area of development?

26:58Mark Stewart:I think what we're doing is already quite interesting. I mean, when you use a platform like Formula One, you know, so the awareness out there that something we need to do something about this. The more awareness you get, the more likelihood you're about people wanting to get involved. And whether that's big pharma, whether that's individuals who want to put money because they've had to, you know, they have dementia in their family and they're keen on maybe, you know, getting behind it. And I think it's just growing it as from what we're already doing is growing every aspect of that. And the more research we can fund out there, the more likely we are to be able to, you know, fix this problem.