Cadillac's F1 team opens its debut year in Formula 1 with a millionaire lawsuit filed by filmmaker Michael Bay, related to a Super Bowl commercial
Cadillac’s entry into the Formula 1 grid was overshadowed by a legal dispute in Hollywood. The team, which is part of the General Motors structure, is the target of a lawsuit filed by filmmaker Michael Bay. The director of franchises such as Transformers is seeking damages of more than $1.5 million, alleging plagiarism, fraud and breach of contract in the production of the commercial aired during the Super Bowl.
The lawsuit, detailed by The Athletic, claims that the team’s debut advertising piece used creative concepts, scripts and visual elements prepared by Bay without proper payment or credit.
According to the complaint, it all started with negotiations between both parties, which began in November 2025. Bay sat down with Cadillac executives, including Marc Towriss, the team’s chief marketing officer, to present his vision for the launch video.
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During the briefing, the filmmaker reportedly hinted at specific elements that ended up in the final version of the commercial, such as the use of former President John F. Kennedy’s famous “We choose to go to the Moon” speech, superimposed on images of an F1 car speeding in a barren desert setting.
Bay claims that he left the meetings certain that he had been hired. However, on December 6, its representatives were informed that Cadillac would opt for “another direction” creatively. The surprise came when the commercial aired containing exactly the same narrative and aesthetic structure proposed by the director, but executed by third parties.
The lawsuit accuses the automaker of appropriating Bay’s intellectual property to save on the production costs of a top-tier director.
When contacted, Cadillac limited itself to saying, through a spokesman, that it has already established dialogue with Michael Bay and is confident that the situation will be resolved amicably. While the legal imbroglio runs in the courts, the team prepares its official debut on the track for the Australian Grand Prix, in Melbourne, between March 6 and 8.
