• by Tanya Gazdik , 8 hours ago

Cadillac returns to Formula 1 next year and is already lining up sponsors, including Jim Beam.

Cadillac’s Formula 1 Team will enter the FIA Formula 1 World Championship as the first new addition to the grid since 2016. 

The bourbon maker and the automaker have signed a multiyear global partnership making Jim Beam its official spirits partner. 

Cadillac is spending an estimated $1 billion total to enter Formula 1, including a $450 million upfront fee to join the grid, and several hundred million more on developing facilities, staffing, and the American-made power unit for its 2026 debut, according to Yahoo Finance, which quoted an analyst.  

The luxury automaker has also landed Tommy Hilfiger as an official apparel and lifestyle partner. The sponsorship between a spirits company and vehicle manufacturer may seem unusual, but it has an interesting backstory, 90 years in the making.

Every evening, Jim Beam, the brand’s founder, would place a mason jar of his proprietary yeast — the living heart of his protected recipe — in the front seat of his Cadillac, and drive it home to protect it from fire. This daily ritual preserved the essential ingredient that still defines Jim Beam’s flavor. 

Today, Fred Noe, Jim Beam’s seventh generation master distiller, still drives a Cadillac, a quiet tribute to the car that helped safeguard his family legacy.

“We are excited to bring the soul of Kentucky to the global stage of Formula 1 with Cadillac, a brand that’s been part of the Beam family’s story through the ages,” said Rashidi Hodari, managing director, James B. Beam Distilling Co. in a release. 

“Both car racing and making Jim Beam bourbon require every individual and moving part to come together to create a positive collective outcome. The pit crew and our distillery workers both rely on the power of their communities to win. It’s this common understanding and the importance of connection with the next generation of Formula 1 fans that inspires us.”

Aiming to help the sport reach new audiences, the partnership will come to life both on and off the track through fan experiences with a focus on alcohol responsibility along with retail and trade activations.

Jim Beam is big on sponsorships and its portfolio incudes the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys, MLB’s L.A. Dodgers, and the United States Soccer Federation. 

No stranger to racing, those deals include the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR in the U.S., and Dick Johnson Racing, Australia’s oldest racing team.