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As Formula 1 Racing continues growing in global popularity, American whiskey companies are racing onto the track with team sponsorships, putting their brand in front of millions of fans.
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The motorsport, which originated in Europe, has boomed in recent years, drawing in a swath of new generation fans thanks to pop culture moments like “F1 The Movie,” the Netflix series “Drive to Survive,” and a recent U.S. expansion with races now held in Miami and Las Vegas. Since 2018, F1’s fanbase has increased 63% climbing to 827 million fans.
And as whiskey makers like Jack Daniel’s and Jim Beam continue to look for new ways to engage fans and draw in younger and newly legal age drinkers to its products, F1’s fanbase is an ideal landscape.
“Ultimately, this partnership is about bringing together two iconic brands with a shared commitment to craftsmanship, authenticity and pushing boundaries,” Willem Dinger, chief partnerships officer of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, which is sponsored by Jim Beam, told The Courier Journal.
Here’s a look at how two American whiskey legends, Jim Beam and Jack Daniel’s, are turning F1 sponsorships of Cadillac and McLaren racing teams into new consumers:
Jim Beam and Cadillac Formula 1 Team
What started as a family legacy of Jim Beam driving his Cadillac home from the distillery every day, has turned into a multi-year partnership on the racetrack, “bringing together two iconic American brands with a shared commitment to excellence, innovation and teamwork,” Dinger said.
Generations after the founder relied on a Cadillac to get him, and his legendary yeast home, each day from the distillery, current seventh generation master distiller Fred Noe still drives a Cadillac. Now, Jim Beam sponsors the Cadillac F1 team, with the 2026 season being both brands first ride chasing the checkered flags.
And as Jim Beam, which is owned by Suntory Global Spirits, looks to continue its global growth, Rashidi Hodari, managing director for the James B. Beam Distilling Company, told The Courier Journal, that F1 presented “the types of audiences we wanted to grow with, the markets we wanted to grow with. We were looking for a global platform that allowed us to engage consumers throughout the year in things that they were passionate about, things that they were engaged about, things that brought people together.”
A Jim Beam spokesperson said the brand’s sales have risen about 4% annually worldwide over the past 10 years, with strong growth in India, making the international reach of F1 an attractive marketing platform.
For fans that are on-site, the bourbon maker brings a variety of activations to fans.
“Jim Beam is all about bringing people together, and that’s something that translates naturally into Formula 1,” Dinger said. “For us, fandom is about those shared moments, the community and connections that form around something people are passionate about.”
Activations have included the Jim Beam Roadhouse, where fans have a place to enjoy a drink, soak up the atmosphere and connect with others, the Jim Beam bar in the Paddock Club suite, where a Jim Beam mixologist creates signature cocktails and shares more about the brands bourbon, and a BBQ party for fans at the legendary Silverstone track in Europe.
The activations feature specialty cocktails like “The Golden Mullet,” which features Jim Beam Pineapple, and the “Jalisco Highball,” which features Jim Beam Black and is in honor of Sergio Perez Checo, a Mexican driver for the Cadillac team.
“We bring a taste of Kentucky to the local market,” Hodari said.
For Hodari, as the beverage space becomes increasingly competitive and consumer desires continue to shift, F1 offers a unique ability to operate in multiple markets and bring some fans their first interaction with Jim Beam bourbon.
While it’s early for Jim Beam and Cadillac, Hodari believes the partnership will be successful in the long run. For now, the focus will be on its first season, which runs March to December and includes 24 scheduled races, and introducing the global fans to the American brands.
“This partnership brings together two American originals on a truly global stage,” Dinger said. “Formula 1 gives us an incredible opportunity to share that heritage and connect Jim Beam with fans around the world.”
Jack Daniel’s and McLaren Formula 1 Team
Jack Daniel’s is no newbie in the F1 world. Since the 2023 racing season, the Tennessee whiskey brand, owned by Louisville-based Brown-Forman, has seen its logo zip around tracks from Miami to Monaco on the widely popular McLaren F1 Team’s car.
In that time, the racing team has seen immense success, winning two consecutive World Constructors’ Championships in 2024 and 2025, the 2025 World Drivers’ Championship with team driver Lando Norris, and 22 Grand Prix victories across the 2024, 2025, and 2026 seasons.
“We hope, in particular, to engage with McLaren and F1 fans of legal drinking age, who are fans of whiskey,” said Jeremy Scoones, Jack Daniel’s senior manager of global partnerships. “We know there is a significant overlap between Jack Daniel’s target audience and McLaren’s fan base, so there is a strong basis for success.”
For the brand often associated with the American South, Jack Daniel’s went after F1 because of its increasing cultural relevance for younger fans, and its global platform.
“The U.S. is obviously a key market, but we also wanted something which would work for our European and Asian markets as well,” Scoones said. “F1 ticks those boxes, whereas global sports like World Cup soccer and Olympics take place every four years, F1 takes place every year, for 10 months per year, 24 times per year, making it the most popular ‘always on’ sporting competition in the world.”
Now in the fourth year of the partnership, Jack’s Garage, an innovative experience that fuses the world of music with motorsports, has become a popular F1 fan interaction. The space boasts a bar where fans can order signature cocktails, such as the “Last Lap Lemonade,” featuring Old No. 7 Jack Daniel’s whiskey.
In addition to the on-site activations at the racetrack, Jack Daniel’s partners with McLaren to release a limited-edition bottle of whiskey. The 2026 release is a medium bodied blend with caramel, vanilla and toasted oak notes. This year also brought a second collectible whiskey from the McLaren and Jack Daniel’s collab with its Halo MK 1 Tennessee Whiskey, bringing a chocolatey and caramel expression with notes of tobacco to drinkers.
And while the financial terms of the sponsorship haven’t been publicly disclosed, Scoones said it is proving successful for the distiller. Jack Daniel’s has seen incremental sales with its specialty collab whiskies and more favorable brand perception, according to consumer surveys.
For whiskey makers, Formula 1 isn’t about what happens on the track, but rather, gaining a spot in front of one of the fastest-growing audiences in sports, while hoping some fans will raise a glass.
“Formula 1 gives Jack Daniel’s a unique global platform to connect with fans through memorable experiences, innovative collaborations and storytelling that extends far beyond race day,” Scoones said. “As both McLaren and Formula 1 continue to grow around the world, we’re excited to keep creating new ways for fans of legal drinking age to engage with the Jack Daniel’s brand responsibly.”
Contact Business Reporter Olivia Evans at [email protected] or at 502-582-4144.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: How Jack Daniel’s, Jim Beam are racing to capture Formula 1 fans | Exclusive
Reporting by Olivia Evans, Louisville Courier Journal / Louisville Courier Journal
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This story was originally published September 29, 2026 at 3:03 AM.