3M Joins Cadillac F1 as Official Material Science Partner in Multi-Year Deal
3M and the Cadillac Formula 1 Team announced a multi-year global partnership on 30 June 2026, making 3M the team's Official Material Science Partner. The collaboration covers lightweight materials, bonding and surface preparation, manufacturing optimisation, laboratory testing and trackside support, with the goal of advancing the American outfit's on-track performance from its 2026 debut season.
Two American giants form a technical alliance
The Cadillac Formula 1 Team and 3M announced a multi-year global partnership on 30 June 2026, designating the Minnesota-based industrial technology company as the team's Official Material Science Partner. [3] The deal unites two American organisations with backgrounds in precision engineering as Cadillac continues to build its F1 programme from the ground up. [1]
What 3M will bring to the garage
The initial scope of work covers lightweight materials, bonding and surface preparation, manufacturing optimisation, laboratory testing and trackside support. [3] 3M scientists and engineers will work directly alongside Cadillac's technical staff to support car development and advance performance at race events. [2] The company brings decades of automotive sector experience to the arrangement, and intends to transfer lessons learned in the motorsport environment back into its wider commercial operations. [5]
This marks 3M's first partnership inside Formula 1, although the brand has maintained a long-standing association with NASCAR as an official partner of that series for roughly two decades. [4]
A selective commercial strategy
Cadillac's global head of commercial strategy, Tyler Epp, confirmed that the team's partnership model prioritises organisations that deliver a genuine technical advantage rather than simply headline sponsorship. [4] The team is not pursuing a title sponsor at this stage, keeping its focus on building what Epp described as an American-heritage brand identity alongside partners that share its values. [4]
The Cadillac Formula 1 Team is backed by TWG Motorsports and General Motors, with facilities in Indianapolis, Charlotte and Silverstone. [1] The team made its Formula 1 debut in 2026. [1]
:::analysis The 3M deal fits a pattern visible across several newer and returning F1 entries: recruiting material science and engineering partners early in a programme's life, when the development curve is steepest and marginal gains from advanced materials are most accessible. For a team still correlating its wind tunnel and CFD models with real-world data, embedded laboratory and trackside support from a supplier of 3M's scale offers a structural advantage that goes beyond conventional livery sponsorship. Whether that translates to lap-time gains in the short term is impossible to assess from a commercial announcement alone; the proof will come through Cadillac's development trajectory across the 2026 season and into the 2027 aero regulations cycle. :::
Related reading
- [1]3M Joins Cadillac Formula 1 Team as Official Material Science Partner to Accelerate Racing Performance (cadillacf1team). Accessed 2026-07-02.
- [2]3M Joins Cadillac Formula 1 Team as Official Material Science Partner to Accelerate Racing Performance (3m-newsroom). Accessed 2026-07-02.
- [3]3M Joins Cadillac Formula 1 Team as Official Material Science Partner to Accelerate Racing Performance (prnewswire). Accessed 2026-07-02.
- [4]Cadillac F1 Continues 'Selective' Approach to Partnerships with 3M Deal (blackbookmotorsport). Accessed 2026-07-02.
- [5]Cadillac F1 Team Picks Up New Material Science Partner (gmauthority). Accessed 2026-07-02.