Cadillacs and race cars are not always a natural pair in people’s minds. The auto brand has a more premium, luxury image. But as Formula 1 racing expands in the U.S., Willem Dinger is driving the all-American land yacht into the international racing circuit.
Dinger, who for ten years was global head of sport & entertainment partnerships at Unilever, recently joined Cadillac’s Formula 1 Team as its chief partnerships officer. In his new position, he is responsible for heading the team’s global partnership strategy leading to its first season competing in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship in 2026.
The work includes building “a world-class portfolio of partners that is commercially strong, culturally connected, and authentic to our values,” says Dinger. “That means combining long-term strategic relationships with breakthrough brand moments that resonate across digital, social, experiential and community channels.”
At Unilever, Dinger led the CPG brand into tripling its investment in sport and entertainment properties, part of a strategy to build cultural relevance through sponsorships. He often referred to those partnerships as an “epicenter” of culture and commerce that helps build brand relevance.
The Cadillac Formula 1 Team has already signed up the apparel brand Tommy Hilfiger and Suntory Global Spirits’ Jim Beam bourbon for brand partnerships and continues to recruit additional sponsorships. Dinger added more brand announcements will be coming closer to the team’s debut.
Tommy Hilfiger, which has already launched a collection this year inspired by “F1 The Movie,” has announced it will create team kits featuring the clothing brand’s imagery, with its logo displayed on the car, driver suits and helmets. The brand will also launch apparel for fans that fuses its identity with the Cadillac Formula 1 Team look.
For its part, Jim Beam – whose namesake founder notably drove Cadillacs in his lifetime – has announced its sponsorship activities will focus on immersive fan experiences with a focus on alcohol responsibility, retail and trade activations. (The current master distiller, Beam descendant Fred Noe, also drives a Cadillac.)
“We’re building a team that lives at the intersection of sport, technology, and culture and look forward to welcoming in partners that align with our vision,” says Dinger. ”We have lots of other partners in the pipeline, with great interest from blue-chip brands.”
“A once-in-a-generation opportunity”
Cadillac is getting a first-mover advantage, by being the first brand-new F1 team since 2016 and backed by a major domestic luxury brand. This gives Cadillac a rare opportunity to engage with both the international F1 audience and an exploding fanbase in the U.S.
It’s “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” to build a network of partnerships from the ground up, backed by the scale of General Motors and the cultural relevance of Cadillac’s iconic American iconic brand, explains Dinger.
F1 has seen an unprecedented growth in the U.S., growing to record viewership and a younger, digitally-engaged audience that makes it an attractive platform for brands. From a single race a few years ago it has grown to three major events this year in Austin, TX, Miami, FL and the most recent Las Vegas Grand Prix.
F1 is already the world’s most popular sport circuit, with 827 million fans worldwide, and the fandom is growing among Gen Z and women. Dinger notes 43% of the sport’s fan base is under 35 years old and F1’s following among that age group is growing by 50 million new fans year-on-year. A recent F1 survey also found three out of four new fans are female.
“Record viewership, and a younger, digitally engaged audience make this a highly attractive platform for brands,” says Dinger. Indeed, the recent F1 survey noted that the new fans discovering the sport in the U.S. are over-index on content engagement and responsiveness to sponsor messages. The report concluded they want more content, regular engagement and three-quarters believe sponsors enhance the experience.
Cadillac is borrowing a page from the Netflix series “Drive to Survive” which gets some credit for the increase in interest in F1 racing in the U.S. It has signed up with actor Keanu Reeves’ production company, KR+SH, and North One Productions to film a docuseries that will follow the team as it gets ready for its first race in March at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Reeves will serve as host and executive producer; more details will be released in early 2026.
While this is the first F1 foray for the Cadillac brand, Dinger notes “racing is in the DNA of GM.” Cadillac parent General Motors has a history with motorsports across its brands, including the IndyCar, NASCAR and the FIA World Endurance Championship.
“We are now ready to take the step into F1, which will help elevate the Cadillac brand and help us connect with new audiences globally,” he says. The support from its parent and fast-building infrastructure — the team has gone from 100 employees to 500 in 2025 — makes Cadillac F1 “a well resourced, driven and fresh new team the likes of which the sport hasn’t seen in over a decade.”
