Cadillac’s first swing as Formula 1’s newest outfit was always going to be as much about theatre as it was about paint. You don’t buy a Super Bowl slot to whisper. So when the team chose America’s biggest advertising stage to unveil its 2026 livery, it landed exactly how they’d hoped: loud, mainstream, unmistakably aimed at an audience far beyond the paddock.
The problem is that the morning-after conversation hasn’t stayed neatly on brand.
Michael Bay, the Hollywood director and producer, has filed a lawsuit against Cadillac relating to the Super Bowl commercial, seeking $1.5 million in damages. The claim alleges the team “stolen Bay’s ideas and work without paying for them” in connection with the ad. Cadillac has denied any wrongdoing.
Speaking in the aftermath of the reveal, Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss struck a tone that was equal parts bruised and bullish — disappointed by the legal move, but adamant the team’s creative process didn’t lean on Bay’s input.
“Our reaction is we have a lot of respect for Michael,” Towriss said. “I think it’s, you know, disappointed that he chose to do that.
“Certainly all of the creative was done well in advance of ever speaking with him. We were wanting to talk to him about a role as director, not taking creative ideas from him.”
Towriss credited the agency Translation for developing the concept and insisted the team expects the dispute to be resolved without it turning into the kind of long, messy sideshow that motorsport projects can’t afford in their infancy.
“I think the group, Translation, that we worked with, did an excellent job developing all of that, and so we’re confident it’ll be resolved amicably,” he said. “But, from our standpoint, last night was a huge success, and we’re very proud of the work that was done.”
That “huge success” framing is important, because Cadillac’s launch was never just a livery reveal. It was a statement of intent: an F1 newcomer using a cultural moment to announce itself as a national-scale sports property, not merely a new entry on the timing screens. The risk with that approach, of course, is you’re now judged by the standards of the entertainment industry as much as those of F1 — and entertainment is famously litigious.
Towriss also pushed back on chatter that the commercial’s placement didn’t go to plan. Rumours had circulated that Cadillac’s spot was originally supposed to air during the half-time show rather than later in the game, a detail that matters when you’ve paid for oxygen on the biggest night in US advertising.
“So the commercial was always planned for the second break of the fourth quarter,” he said. “So everything actually went exactly as planned last night.”
From Cadillac’s perspective, that timing became a feature rather than a compromise. Towriss described how the ad’s slot dovetailed with a broader, boots-on-the-ground activation in New York.
“It actually worked well for us here, because we had a viewing party here, and I’m actually in Times Square, New York City this morning,” he explained. “We had a watch party with partners and folks from the team, and then we were able to go right out into Times Square with all of our fans that assembled there and do a physical reveal of the car just shortly thereafter.
“So actually, everything went off like clockwork last night. So we’re very, very happy with that.”
He even found time to appreciate the sort of serendipity marketing teams pray for: an in-game moment that snapped the room to attention right before Cadillac appeared on screen.
“And I thank the Patriots for scoring a touchdown right before our commercial went,” Towriss said. “Maybe the game was a little slow, the touchdown happens, everybody goes, ‘Wait, got to pay attention. Something just happened.’ And then, boom, Cadillac Formula 1 is on the screen. So I think it couldn’t have gone any better.”
That’s the tension for Cadillac now. On one side, a launch that delivered the buzz and mainstream cut-through an 11th team needs ahead of its first season. On the other, a legal dispute with a name as recognisable as Bay’s, threatening to drag the conversation away from the car, the people, and the project.
Towriss is betting the former outlasts the latter — and in fairness, the paddock has a short memory when lap times start coming in. But brand-building is a marathon, and Cadillac’s entered it with the volume turned up. When you go that big that early, the spotlight doesn’t just make you look important. It also makes it harder to control what everyone’s looking at.
