BYD and Geely Want Into F1. The FIA Told BYD to Come Back With a ‘Serious Proposal’
· Yahoo Sports
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem says BYD and Geely have both asked about joining F1, and he told BYD to come back with a “serious proposal” after it turned down the idea of buying an existing team.
BYD has been weighing a move into F1 for much of 2026. In May, former Red Bull boss Christian Horner met BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li at the Cannes Film Festival, which fueled talk of a new Chinese team.
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Ben Sulayem named both companies while speaking at the New Economy Forum in Madrid, Grande Prêmio reported. “I met with other manufacturers, and they came saying they wanted to join,” he said. “One of them was BYD and another was Geely.”
Ben Sulayem Told BYD to Buy a Team First
Ben Sulayem said he suggested BYD take over a team that’s already on the grid, and BYD said no. “I said, ‘Why don’t you take over a team to start with?’ That was with BYD — why would I hide it? And they said, ‘No, we want to have our own team,’” he said.
His answer was a challenge. “Come back with a serious proposal that shows us this is going to work,” he said.
Ben Sulayem was clear that F1 isn’t hunting for another team, and there’s no formal process to add one. “The FIA can open the door for a 12th team. But do we need a team? No. We don’t need a team, we need the team,” he said.
He would welcome a Chinese team, but it would have to go through the same process as everyone else. “We have a race in China. It’s huge. We have the manufacturers, we also had a Chinese driver, and Chinese technology is there. But everything has to be done on our terms and according to our regulations, which are fair to everyone. Because that is also the FIA’s responsibility,” he said.
That includes the rules for the cars. “The regulations will not be changed just because of the Chinese manufacturers. We cannot do that. The regulations need to remain stable,” Ben Sulayem said.
BYD has said it won’t settle for a small role either. “We will never participate in Formula 1 just to put a sticker on the side of a car,” BYD special adviser Alfredo Altavilla said at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Geely’s stand at the Paris Motor Show. Image Credit: GeelyBYD and Geely Already Own Some Big Names
Cadillac joined this year as F1’s 11th team, and Audi arrived by taking over Sauber. Cadillac took the long way in. The FIA approved an Andretti-led bid in 2023, but F1’s commercial side rejected it in early 2024. The entry got the green light once General Motors and its Cadillac brand took the lead.
BYD and Geely are already major players in the car world. BYD owns Denza, Yangwang and Fangchengbao, and Geely owns Volvo Cars, Polestar, Lynk & Co and Lotus.
Lotus has plenty of F1 history. Team Lotus raced from 1958 to 1994 and won seven constructors’ and six drivers’ championships. The name came back between 2010 and 2015, after a fight over it between Tony Fernandes’ Malaysian-backed team and the Renault-run team that Group Lotus sponsored.