Chinese automotive manufacturer BYD has confirmed that it has held talks with Formula 1‘s CEO Stefano Domenicali about a potential future bid to enter the sport.
Under the current Concorde Agreement states that only 12 teams maximum can be on the grid, and with Cadillac accepted into the fold as the 11th team for 2026 onwards, competition is now high for the final place viable.
BYD is now the largest brand of electric automobiles in the world in terms of sales, having recently overtaken Tesla, and with F1 having become further electrified, it looks like a good time for such a brand to make a play to place its interest in the sport.
With China having become a pinnacle country for motorsport, BYD would hold a significant advantage if it decided to bid and face competition.
And speaking at the Beijing motor show, its vice president, Stella Li, revealed that the company has spoken with the very top of F1.
“We met Stefano Domenicali in Shanghai. We maintain a warm relationship and are in regular contact,” she told Sportmediaset.
For Li, it would be a dream scenario to see her brand enter F1, saying: “I love Formula 1 because it’s all about passion and culture, and people dream of driving in Formula 1.”
Li continued that BYD would seriously consider a future entry attempt.
“Yes, we are talking about it.. It’s a real opportunity to test our technology.”
BYD will know that it would need to produce a watertight bid if their aims were to be successful, given how long it took TWG Motorsports to finally see Cadillac accepted.
But it if can charm Domenicali and Mohammed Ben Sulayem, then we may see 24 cars on the grid soon enough.
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