Swing States – Cadillac challenges Haas as favorite all-American F1 team

How will Cadillac’s arrival in Formula 1 change US fandom of their homegrown teams?

Cadillac has been known for decades as the ‘American Dream’, and its arrival into Formula 1 next season will only serve to further increase the ever-growing interest in the series in the US.

Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Jay-Z and Marilyn Monroe all drove Cadillacs, and as one classic car collector put it: “Owning a Cadillac is like owning a piece of American history.”

Liberty Media has driven American fandom in F1 to heights hitherto unseen, with Netflix’s Drive to Survive reaching a new audience now served by three races across the country in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas.

A perfect platform, then, for General Motors to introduce Cadillac as the 11th team on the F1 grid – especially when aiming to build a fanbase and a host of commercial deals to bring in sponsorship revenue.

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But, I hear you cry, America already has a Formula 1 squad in the shape of Haas – a team owned by Ohio native Gene Haas that debuted in the championship in 2016.

Running with the stars and stripes on its cars, Haas has tapped into its unique position as an American team – but it is a role that will come under threat from next year.

“I think that the expansion of the championship and the races in the US, plus we know about how television broadcast has worked over the past few years – that has definitely benefited Haas,” John Rowady, founder and CEO of US-based sports marketing agency rEvolution told Motorsport.com.

“But I'd also say that Haas had been running essentially a Ferrari supplier program. So there is a bit of balance there that maybe a lot of new or interested companies that are entering into Formula 1 may not have truly understood that it was an American-based team for a number of years.

“Cadillac is joining at a perfect time almost – we know the fan interest is growing, but the business interest, the commercial interest is also growing in the US, hand in hand almost and obviously, here in America, they have a very valuable brand.”

The value of the brand could be something which sees Cadillac usurp Haas quite rapidly, given the aforementioned seemingly unique place it holds in the hearts of Americans.

The commercial opportunities are, according to Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon, already stacking up.

“I personally think that we have something very new and very fresh to offer in so many ways,” he said. “Cadillac itself from a brand point of view has got a huge heritage, and not least in innovation, so there's a very rich resource there that we can play to.

Cadillac F1

Photo by: FIA

“I'm certainly encouraged by the level of interest that we've had, and in fact for a growing team, the interest levels, it risks outstripping our capacity to deal with it in the short term. So from that point of view, it's very, very encouraging.”

“An awful lot of the interest that we've had is from brands who have not shown much interest in Formula 1 up to now, just purely and simply because it didn't have whatever it is that they're looking for, and I think we're able to offer that.

“So that puts a new dynamic on things, and I'd be very disappointed if we were not actually increasing the broad reach that Formula 1 already has. I'm certainly hopeful that we'd be able to bring some innovative new partnerships into F1, and some existing ones as well.

“We are a truly American team, we're investing heavily in the US, creating facilities and creating jobs, and that is something that resonates a lot with potential partners.”

Haas had a record 19 partners last season, 10 of which were American, with the team having signed up seven new US-based partners across 2023.

MoneyGram is the biggest of those American brands, having signed a $20 million a year deal to become Haas’ title partner from 2023 onwards.

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

It is not just at Haas where US brands have started to proliferate: “It is the American involvement that has grown so big, going from 40 partners to 115 in a couple of years, and they still keep coming,” Spomotion Analytics’ Bjorn Stenbacka told Motorsport.com.

Cadillac will want to harness the increased interest, hoping its position in the American marketplace can drive such deals forward.

“Cadillac isn't new to this; they are high performing as a brand and as a performance motorsports company out of General Motors,” adds Rowady.

“This platform of commercial opportunities now broadens the ability for different types of corporations and different types of fan expansion, different revenue streams to get involved. I think that's also crucial as part of how we look at Cadillac F1 entering the space.”

If Cadillac brings in a host of new, as yet untapped brands into the world of F1, what does that mean for Haas?

“I actually think that it's going to benefit them both,” said Rowady. “Because we are finally starting to build out more staying power for the Americans.

“Whether the Europeans like that or not, Liberty does realise that having the American fanbase is crucial to growth and expansion of the sport – for the commercialisation staying power of the sport.”