Nike Is Circling Formula 1 Again — This Time Through Cadillac

Nike is exploring a return to Formula 1 for the first time in more than two decades, according to Sports Business Journal, with early-stage contact building around the sport's incoming eleventh team, Cadillac. Nike hasn't held an F1 sponsorship since it exited the paddock in the early 2000s, but a pattern of engagement this year points toward a genuine return rather than a one-off marketing stunt.

The clearest evidence came at the Miami Grand Prix, where Nike representatives gifted custom footwear to Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss and his wife, and where incoming Cadillac drivers Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas were both spotted wearing Nike shoes at the event. Beyond the Cadillac relationship, Nike has also held discussions with Formula One Management itself about broader sponsorship and licensing opportunities, sources told SBJ — talks whose scope and timeline remain unclear.

What isn't unclear is why Nike is looking now. Formula 1's commercial trajectory has diverged sharply from Nike's own path over the past two decades: the series now hosts three United States races, commands expanding U.S. broadcast rights fees, and has become a magnet for American corporate sponsorship dollars in a way it never was when Nike last had a presence in the sport. Liberty Media's ownership has pushed F1's fan base and media deals deeper into the U.S. market that Nike cares most about.

Cadillac's arrival as the sport's eleventh team, backed by General Motors, has itself accelerated interest from American brands looking for a domestic entry point into F1's paddock. A GM-backed team gives U.S. sponsors a culturally legible way into a sport that has historically been dominated by European manufacturers and their long-standing kit partners.

Nike would be entering a paddock where sportswear rivals have already staked out territory. Mercedes signed a multi-year partnership with Adidas; Ferrari has maintained its long-running collaboration with Puma; Red Bull Racing struck a major Adidas deal earlier this year; and Castore, the British performance brand, already supplies apparel to teams including Aston Martin and Alpine. Any Nike deal would have to find room in a grid where most of the marquee constructors already have kit partners locked up.

That crowding is itself the signal worth watching. The sportswear industry's rush into F1 since 2020 mirrors the sport's broader commercial re-rating under Liberty Media — rising sponsorship values, expanding title-partner slots, and, per industry trackers, a wave of AI-sponsorship deals alongside the traditional apparel and title categories. Brands that sat out F1 for a generation are now recalculating whether they can afford to stay on the sidelines.

For Nike specifically, a Cadillac-anchored entry point makes strategic sense: it's a new team with no legacy apparel commitments, an American ownership structure, and built-in media attention as the newest and most storyline-rich constructor on the grid. Attaching to Cadillac would let Nike test the F1 relationship without displacing an incumbent kit partner at an established team.

Nothing is signed, and sources caution the scope of any Nike-FOM discussions remains undefined. But the direction of travel — gifted footwear, driver sightings, and confirmed conversations with the commercial rights holder — suggests Nike sees F1's current commercial arc as one it can no longer ignore, two decades after walking away from it.