Cadillac F1 CEO responds to Michael Bay's $1.5M lawsuit over Super Bowl ad

Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss has publicly addressed a $1.5 million lawsuit filed by Hollywood director Michael Bay, calling it "disappointing" and asserting the team's creative work was done independently. The legal dispute centers on a high-profile, $10 million commercial that aired during the Super Bowl to launch Cadillac's new F1 team livery.

Why it matters:

For a new F1 entrant like Cadillac, building a reputable and trustworthy brand image is paramount. A public legal battle with a famed Hollywood director over alleged stolen creative concepts threatens to overshadow their carefully orchestrated entry and could damage relationships within the high-stakes worlds of both motorsport and entertainment marketing.

The details:

• Director Michael Bay (Transformers, Armageddon) filed a 19-page lawsuit alleging breach of contract and fraud, claiming Cadillac and CEO Dan Towriss recruited him for his "American" style, then dropped him mid-production only to use his ideas.
• The lawsuit specifically accuses the parties of planning "to rip him off," desiring a "‘Michael Bay’ commercial... at a bargain-basement price."
• The 30-second ad aired to hundreds of millions of viewers during the Super Bowl's fourth quarter.
• In response, Towriss told media, including RacingNews365, that "all of the creative work was done well in advance of ever speaking with him," and they had approached Bay for a director role, not for his creative ideas.
• Towriss credited the translation agency with developing the work and expressed confidence the matter would be "resolved amicably," while emphasizing the launch was a "huge success."

What's next:

The situation puts Cadillac's F1 project under an unexpected spotlight. While Towriss projects confidence for an amicable resolution, the lawsuit proceeds in court. How Cadillac navigates this public relations and legal challenge will be a test of its operational savvy as it prepares for its highly anticipated grid entry, with the team's focus ideally remaining on track development rather than courtroom drama.