• by Tanya Gazdik , February 9, 2026

Cadillac’s Super Bowl expenses are likely not over.

While other brands that advertised on the Big Game are enjoying a post-Super Bowl glow, Cadillac’s Formula 1 team is contending with a lawsuit.

“Renowned director Michael Bay has filed a $1.5-million lawsuit regarding Cadillac’s Formula 1 Super Bowl advertisement, claiming that Dan Towriss, the team’s CEO, and ‘his Cadillac F1 team have apparently stolen Bay’s ideas and work for the commercial, without paying for them,’ according to the complaint recently filed in Los Angeles,” according to The Athletic, which obtained a copy of the breach-of-contract and fraud lawsuit, which was filed Friday. 

Bay, known for his films “Transformers” and “Armageddon,” has previously created Super Bowl spots and has a 25-year-long relationship with the F1 team’s parent company, General Motors.

The 19-page complaint says Towriss, owner and chief executive of the new Cadillac Formula 1 team, contacted Bay directly on Nov. 28, 2025, seeking to hire “the most American director [he] could find” to conceptualize, produce, and direct the commercial introducing the racing team under the Cadillac brand.

“Bay alleges he paused other projects to accept Towriss’s offer to direct the high-profile, but tightly scheduled launch, in time for the Super Bowl,” according to Rolling Stone. “Then, midway through the production, after Bay and his team allegedly expended hundreds of hours “working nearly nonstop, Towriss abruptly decided to ‘go in a different direction’ and use someone else to complete the project.’”

Bay is suing for breach of contract and fraud and is seeking damages in excess of $1.5 million.

“Michael Bay is a cinematic genius and we talked with him about directing our Super Bowl ad. But after two meetings, it became clear he couldn’t meet our timeline, and there ultimately wasn’t a path forward,” a spokesperson for Cadillac F1 said in a statement obtained by several media outlets. “It’s unclear why he’s bringing this claim, since the concept and creative were already developed and we were only exploring him as a director. It’s also unusual to raise this now, given the ad hasn’t even been released.

“We’re confident this will be resolved appropriately. Even so, we still admire Michael Bay’s creative brilliance and would welcome the opportunity to work together in the future.”

The 30-second spot, shown during the fourth quarter, uses a voiceover from John F. Kennedy’s iconic “We Choose to go the Moon” speech.

Towriss also spoke Monday about the lawsuit, which is an unusual move by a defendant. 

"I think our reaction is we have a lot of respect for Michael," Towriss said, according to ESPN. "I think it's disappointing 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, and so I think the group, Translation, that we worked with did an excellent job developing all that.

"So we're confident it'll be resolved amicably but, you know, from our standpoint last night was a huge success and we're very proud of the work that was done and that's all I can say on it."