BYD has confirmed it’s held talks with Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali about getting involved in the championship, with the Chinese automotive giant weighing up what form that involvement could take as the sport settles into its new 2026 landscape.
Stella Li, BYD’s vice president, said discussions have taken place and made it clear the company’s interest is active rather than theoretical. “We met Stefano Domenicali in Shanghai,” Li said. “We are always in close contact. I like Formula 1 because it’s about passion and culture, and people dream of being in Formula 1.”
That’s the romantic packaging, but the subtext is more pointed: 2026 is the year Formula 1’s technical direction tilts harder towards electrification, with the power unit formula moving to a near 50/50 split between electrical output and internal combustion, the latter running on fully sustainable biofuel. For an automaker that has built its global expansion on EVs — and also sells plug-in hybrids — F1 suddenly looks less like a petrohead’s museum piece and more like a high-stakes shop window.
Li said BYD is “discussing” ways to join the F1 ecosystem, framing it as an opportunity to “put our technology to the test”. Notably, the scope isn’t limited to buying a team and turning up with two cars. The options under consideration, as outlined in the discussions, range from a full team entry to becoming a power unit manufacturer or a major partner presence in the sport.
That matters because it speaks to how modern F1 courtships work. A new works engine programme is a multi-year, infrastructure-heavy commitment; a team entry is arguably even more politically complex given the current grid dynamics; a prominent partnership can be a strategic toe in the water that builds brand equity while the technical and corporate pieces are put in place. BYD’s language leaves all doors open.
The grid has already expanded to 11 teams in 2026 with Cadillac’s arrival, an entry that came with a clear stepping-stone plan: Ferrari power initially, with a General Motors power unit scheduled to arrive in 2029 as the project matures into works status. In that context, the question isn’t simply “will F1 allow another new name?” It’s what, exactly, would justify it — competitively, commercially, and politically.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been publicly bullish for some time about the idea of a Chinese presence on the grid, and last year he confirmed “talks” had taken place while stressing that any further expansion can’t be for expansion’s sake.
“We have an 11th team. I believe we should look into the performance of the 11th team, and then, if there is a Chinese [bid]… they [Formula One Management] will agree to that, because it is about sustaining the business,” Ben Sulayem said at the time.
He went further, essentially arguing that a credible Chinese entry would be an obvious commercial win. “If there is a team from China… wouldn’t it make more money with China coming in? I believe, yes,” he said, before adding the caveat that the FIA isn’t interested in “filling up” the grid without the right candidate and the right value-add.
That “value” line is doing a lot of work. F1’s existing teams are famously protective of their slice of the pie, and any 12th entry becomes an argument about dilution versus growth. Ben Sulayem’s point — that the revenue could grow enough to make the overall pot bigger — is the sales pitch. The teams’ counterpoint is usually that the growth isn’t guaranteed and the costs of sharing are immediate. So if BYD wants to be more than a logo on a hospitality unit, it will need a proposal that looks like a net gain to the championship rather than just another hand out.
There’s also the matter of timing. Ben Sulayem said “the time will come” to open an Expression of Interest, signalling there isn’t an active, standing invitation to join right now. That doesn’t stop serious conversations happening — in fact, it’s often how these projects begin — but it does mean BYD’s interest sits in a holding pattern until the political and procedural moment arrives.
What’s unmistakable is that the 2026 ruleset has changed the tenor of these conversations. For years, F1’s pitch to road-car manufacturers could sound like a justification exercise, especially for companies whose product roadmap was sprinting towards electrification. Now the sport can credibly sell its power unit formula as a proving ground for high-performance hybrid systems in a world where efficiency and energy recovery are not marketing side quests but core business.
Li’s comments didn’t commit BYD to a specific route, and they didn’t need to. In F1, the first public confirmation is often less about declaring intent and more about signalling seriousness: to FOM, to the FIA, to potential technical partners, and to investors inside the company who want to know whether this is a passion project or a strategic play.
Either way, the fact BYD is at least talking — and doing so directly with Domenicali — is the part that will make teams, engine suppliers, and commercial rivals glance up from their spreadsheets. In the new-era F1 economy, the next big entrant may not look like the last one. And with 2026’s hybrid-heavy rules now a reality, BYD’s interest is easy to understand: the sport is finally speaking a language the EV giants are comfortable replying in.
