Cadillac F1 team chasing massing $70 million title sponsorship deal – report

The all-new Cadillac F1 Team is asking a title sponsor to fork out an eye-watering $70 million (£51.5m).

A report by Sports Business Journal claims the General Motors-backed operation is asking for $55-$70 million for naming rights for its inaugural season.

Cadillac F1 sets bold $70 million title sponsorship goal

Cadillac will join the grid next season, becoming the 11th team after a turbulent selection process that began in February 2023.

In that time, the projects name was changed after F1 rejected the entry – a move that sparked an investigation from the United States Department of Justice.

That resulted in the squad being admitted entry, with a different name above the door to a project that is otherwise unchanged.

Run by TWG Motorsport, it has backing from automaker General Motors, which has leant its Cadillac branding to the operation.

However, the squad is on the lookout for a title sponsor in addition to the Cadillac name.

Title sponsorship typically commands top dollar, depending on the team, with a broad range of price points available within the paddock.

It’s suggested those at the pointy end of the championship are able to command in the region of $100 million annually, with Oracle and Mastercard suggested to be in that region with their deals with Red Bull Racing and McLaren respectively.

According to the SBJ report, the Cadillac F1 team has gone to the market in pursuit of a fleet of sponsorship positions. In addition to the title sponsor, it’s also looking to lock down premium partner, team partner, official partner, and team supplier roles.

To do so, it has reported engaged with a number of agencies as it looks to bolster its ranks, which already include Tommy Hilfiger and Jim Beam. The latter was announced as the team’s ‘official spirits partner’ with a social media post on Jim Beam’s social media channels.

But as Cadillac looks to the market for sponsorship for F1 2026, there is already solid interest in companies looking to make contact with the organisation.

“There is a significant amount of quality companies in quality sectors – with larger interest coming offshore than domestic currently – in sponsoring General Motors’ relationship to Formula 1,” Chris Lencheski told SBJ. Lechanski has business relationships with GM’s motorsport arm though his own agencies have not been engaged by the F1 team.

“They are arguably – depending on any given year – the largest or second largest automotive manufacturer in the world. Any time that kind of company comes to a new form of any sport – let alone motorsport, which is a cornerstone, hallmark, signature obligation of global performance marketing in automotive – it’s going to spur a lot of interest.”

More on the finances of Formula 1

👉 McLaren sale shatters records as team valuation soars

👉 Explained: Who owns each Formula 1 team as McLaren change made

Landing a single title sponsor, however, isn’t the only approach.

Prior to its recent deal with Mastercard, McLaren operated without a title backer. Instead, the Zak Brown-led organisation opted to diversify its income through a greater number of smaller sponsors – a means of risk mitigation of sorts.

Cadillac could head down a similar path, potentially opening the door for smaller brands to engage at a lower price point, though without quite the same bells and whistles that would come with dominant branding of the team.

Ahead of his F1 race debut next season, significant money has already been invested in the Cadillac squad.

It has acquired and fit out premises and recruited staff, including some high profile and experienced figures from across the paddock. It has had to purchase machinery and other elements like trucks and computers (and software).

While much of that cost will ultimately be offset against the immediate billion-dollar value of the team, as has become the norm for any team on the F1 grid, it would be imprudent not to look to recoup some of those costs.

Next year, the F1 cost cap raises to $215 million (£158.3m), though it also encapsulates a host of elements that have otherwise fallen outside of it. In reality, the increase is effectively little more than indexation following its introduction in F1 2021.

Still, a title sponsor is a statement signing; an endorsement of credibility and a show of faith in what is a green fields project. A big dollar deal simply underscores that.

Read next: Lewis Hamilton makes definitive statement on F1 retirement talk