Word on the street is that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but we can’t help but wonder if this sentiment rings true for the Cadillac F1 Team, which is now being sued as it gears up for the start of its first-ever season.
The lawsuit has been brought by film director Michael Bay, who claims that his ideas for were used without credit or compensation in Caddy’s new ad that debuted the livery of its F1 car. According to a report from The Athetic, Bay is suing the Cadillac F1 team for $1.5 million – a decent bit of coin, though a mere drop in the bucket compared to the $450 million dollar “entry-fee” the luxury marque paid to get into F1 in the first place. Notably, that fee was more than double the $200 million specified in the 2021 Concorde Agreement.
The reason Bay is seeking these damages stems from the fact that Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss tapped the director as source for the creation of the ad in November 2025. The tie-up was somewhat of a no-brainer, since Towriss wanted to hire “a renowned American director” to echo the team’s patriotic ethos, while Bay has worked with Cadillac’s parent company, GM, in the past to cook up ads.
In order to discuss the gig, Bay and Towriss met via a video conference, during which time Bay shared the idea of using the a desert setting as well as JFK sound bites, both elements prevalent in the actual Super Bowl ad. Towriss would tell Bay that he was hired at the end of the meeting, according to the complaint filed in Los Angeles, California.
Per the filing, “throughout this process, Defendants and their agents worked with Bay and Bay’s team as if Bay had in fact been hired for the project.” All was well and dandy until December 6th, when he was notified that he had been dropped from the project, at which point the Cadillac F1 team allegedly continued on with his vision.
We’ll stay on top of this one and report back as we know more. In the meantime, watch the ad in question just below.
