'Cadillac F1 hit with major legal claim over disputed Super Bowl commercial'

The American claims he was brought in to produce the commercial set to unveil, on Sunday night in Europe, the US giant’s first car livery ahead of its 2026 Formula 1 entry — only for the project to be suddenly scrapped, leaving him unpaid.

The lawsuit claims that Cadillac F1 Team “have apparently stolen Bay’s ideas and work for the commercial without paying for them,” with concepts he developed allegedly appearing in the final advert set to air in the coming hours — prompting the director to file a claim seeking at least $1.5 million in damages.

“They planned all along to rip him off. They wanted a ‘Michael Bay’ commercial, in other words, at a bargain-basement price,” the lawsuit adds, the Rolling Stone reported.

“Bay and his team worked tirelessly around the clock to prepare for this production. Bay personally pulled an all-nighter that evening, putting together various ideas for the project,” papers further add.

According to the lawsuit, Bay was informed on December 6 by a freelance producer that the project would no longer move forward with him, as the agency had opted to "go in a different direction".

It also references an alleged message from CEO Dan Towriss, expressing dissatisfaction with how the situation unfolded: “I’m not at all happy with how this played out. I will be looking for a future project to bring you with no agency in the middle.”