Sunday’s Super Bowl LX marked the first of multiple debuts for Formula 1’s newest team.
Cadillac opted to introduce itself in one of the most American ways possible, by revealing its season livery in a Super Bowl advertisement during the fourth quarter of the Seattle Seahawks-New England Patriots matchup. But the American team also took it a step further by creating a multi-day Times Square activation, with an opaque box being placed in the New York City location since Friday that defrosted after the game in front of a crowd that gathered on all sides in the final minutes of the countdown.
As for the advertisement, the team decided to take a cinematic approach to the reveal, similar to its driver announcement last fall. An early teaser posted on Cadillac’s social media channels featured former United States president John F. Kennedy’s speech at Rice University in 1962, when talking about the nation’s space effort, and that was the central theme of the advertisement, which aired after Mack Hollins scored the Patriots’ first touchdown of the evening.
The commercial started with the team’s helmet, which prominently displays the Cadillac logo and team name above the visor. Kennedy’s voice begins with saying, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” Components of the car start coming together with a final challenger coming into full view at the last part of that quote.
The mission begins now. Introducing Cadillac Formula 1 ® Team’s first livery. Our season kicks off March 7th streaming on @AppleTV in the US. pic.twitter.com/OlBx4jPbAI
— Cadillac Formula 1 Team (@Cadillac_F1) February 9, 2026
As the camera circles the car, two other portions of Kennedy’s speech play in the background. The commercial ends with the car speeding off, the sentence “The mission begins” etched across the screen. It changes to the team’s name and logo, with “follow America’s new team” written at the bottom, and an F1 car zooms across before the F1 and Apple TV logos pop up.
What’s interesting about the car livery is that it is a dual-color white-and-black design, with the sides of the cars in different colors. One side is white, while the other is black. According to the news release, there is a design gradient on the livery that’s a repeat of a Cadillac chevron, giving a nod to the GM co-ownership and Cadillac’s symbol.
It was only a 30-second ad that played on TV, but Dan Towriss, the CEO of Cadillac’s F1 team, told The Athletic in a recent interview that another version that’s a minute long would be shared shortly after. One of the most significant differences between the version shared on its social media channels and the television advertisement was the inclusion of more behind-the-scenes footage of what goes into assembling the car, from design to assembly.
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” the audio of Kennedy’s speech played in the background. “That goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills. That challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.”
The two sides of Cadillac’s livery (via Cadillac F1 Team)
Sam Piling directed the film. But it is worth noting that on Friday, a few days before the reveal, renowned director Michael Bay filed a lawsuit against Cadillac, among others, for alleged breach of contract and fraud related to this Super Bowl ad.
“This livery represents far more than a paint scheme; it represents who we are and what we bring to Formula 1,’’ Towriss said in the news release. “Every detail is intentional: bold, modern, and unmistakably American, while respecting the heritage and precision that define this sport. Choosing to reveal our first race livery during the Super Bowl and in the heart of Times Square is a way to introduce our identity to the world at the intersection of performance, culture, and entertainment, and to connect with fans in places far beyond the paddock.”
Cadillac faces a steep challenge entering Formula 1 this season, similar to the process of gaining approval to join the 2026 grid. F1 initially rejected Andretti Global’s proposal in January 2024, but the project continued building. While General Motors was always involved in the bid, planning to build the team’s engines over several years, the Cadillac project became a GM-backed team. By late November 2024, F1 reached “an agreement in principle” for GM to create its own team and join the grid in 2026.
It’ll be a few years before GM has its own engines, with the plan starting in 2029. In the meantime, Cadillac will be a customer team, using Ferrari engines, as Haas does. The regulations were also heavily overhauled going into this season, ranging from the engines and aerodynamics to the car’s size and weight.
The livery reveal in Times Square on Sunday (via EarthCam)
But it has a veteran lineup guiding the project, with Graeme Lowdon serving as team principal and Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas, 36, and Mexican driver Sergio Pérez, 36.
It’s not an impossible task that Cadillac faces, but it is a big challenge — one it isn’t shying away from.
“Unveiling our official race livery is a huge milestone in a journey that started years ago — earning our place on the grid, assembling a world‑class team, and developing a race car worthy of Formula 1,” GM President Mark Reuss said in the news release. “The momentum is building toward Melbourne and our Grand Prix debut. For GM, this race car showcases the American innovation, spirit, and pride we want to bring to the global stage of F1.”