By Andy Marston, Sports Pundit
Cadillac Formula 1 Team has hired Ahmed Iqbal, formerly of TikTok and Twitter, to lead its F1 brand strategy, signalling a very intentional shift toward social platform-first storytelling.
Iqbal arrives with an unusual background that spans car sales, automotive strategy, and some of the deepest platform expertise in the creator economy, having led auto strategy at both TikTok and Twitter.
His thesis is that the real battleground for F1 relevance in the United States lives outside the two-hour race window, in the “negative space” between races where culture, engineering, testing, and personality live.
The plan is to position Cadillac as “America’s home team” by making F1 more human, visual and social by turning behind-the-scenes moments into conversation, treating creators as media partners, and translating the complexity of F1 into accessible formats.
As Iqbal says, the assignment is simple. “Go to where the fans already are instead of trying to pull them into where you are.”
Why It Matters:
Iqbal’s comments reflect a broader truth that if you’re relying solely on race-day broadcasts, your relevance is controlled by someone else.
By hiring someone who is capable of building them their own content engine, Cadillac is aiming to owns its narrative, frequency, and connection with fans both in the American market and elsewhere.
Without heritage or results to lean on (it’s highly unlikely the path to podium will be immediate), the ability to be relatable and build authentic connection will be imperative for their success in gaining fandom and commercial backing from partners.
The signing of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas should also help. As well as both
being exceptional drivers with strong experience to develop the car and team on the track, both bring strong fanbases with them and personalities that attract attention.
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