General Motors unveiled the livery of the first Cadillac Formula 1 Team car in a TV commercial airing during one of the most expensive time slots possible ― the Super Bowl. But before it even aired, the team was slapped with a lawsuit.
Cadillac has gone to considerable expense leading up to its long-awaited F1 debut this year as an 11th expansion team at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
The minute-long spot revealed the vehicle during the 60-minute broadcast from LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8. Cadillac Formula One CEO Dan Towriss said in an interview that the brand spent up to $20 million for that slot.
Meanwhile, the ad could cost the company even more. Within 24 hours of the commercial’s airing, it attracted legal action by Hollywood director Michael Bay. As The Athletic and Rolling Stone first reported, the “Transformers” and “Armageddon” director filed a $1.5 million breach of contract and fraud lawsuit in Los Angeles on Feb. 6 over allegations the advertisement used his ideas without payment.
The commercial appears to compare the completion of the Formula 1 vehicle to the space race by underscoring images of the vehicle with snippets of a 1961 speech delivered by President John F Kennedy discussing plans to place an American on the moon before the end of the decade.
