BYD Cools F1 Entry Talk As FIA Keeps Pushing For China
Formula 1

BYD Cools F1 Entry Talk As FIA Keeps Pushing For China

11 July 2026 2 min readBy F1 News Desk (AI-assisted)

At Goodwood, BYD insisted it has no concrete F1 plan and would only enter as a technology partner, not a badge on a car. The FIA, though, is still openly angling for a Chinese team, even as Renault rules out a return to building its own engine.

Key Takeaways

  • 1."We will never participate in Formula 1 just to put a sticker on the side of a car," he said.
  • 2."The next F1 team will come from China, because the right team we see at this moment comes from China," he said — remarks broadly taken as a reference to BYD.
  • 3.He has also made no secret of his irritation at pushback on grid expansion: "I proposed expanding to 12 teams, but everyone opposed it, as if I had committed a crime." The Chinese project has also become linked to a familiar figure.

The next carmaker to move into Formula 1 may never turn a wheel of its own. Speaking at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Chinese EV powerhouse BYD spelled out how it sees a potential grand prix future — and it is nothing like a conventional team entry.

Executive vice-president Stella Li quickly dialled down the speculation. "There is no project in mind," she said. "The dream is always there, but we don't have a concrete agenda." For Li, the pull is emotional rather than sporting: "Formula 1, it's all pure energy, the emotional connection to the people, and then it's the culture."

Special advisor Alfredo Altavilla, once a senior figure at Fiat Chrysler, drew the line more sharply. "We will never participate in Formula 1 just to put a sticker on the side of a car," he said. The only version that interests BYD is a technical one: "We only consider Formula 1 to the extent that our technology can serve the purposes of Formula 1." And that hinges entirely on the rules — "If we can find a way to become technology partners with Formula 1, we might be interested."

Where BYD hesitates, the FIA charges ahead. President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been chasing a Chinese entrant for months, and he barely disguises his preferred candidate. "The next F1 team will come from China, because the right team we see at this moment comes from China," he said — remarks broadly taken as a reference to BYD. He has also made no secret of his irritation at pushback on grid expansion: "I proposed expanding to 12 teams, but everyone opposed it, as if I had committed a crime."

The Chinese project has also become linked to a familiar figure. Since leaving Red Bull, Christian Horner has been tied by several reports to a possible new outfit funded by Chinese backers — an idea Ben Sulayem has openly welcomed.

Still, the manufacturer landscape is far from one-directional. Just as BYD circles, Renault has flatly rejected the notion of building another F1 engine. Group boss Francois Provost left no room for doubt: "There is a clear reference today. I do not develop engines." With Alpine now running Mercedes power, he sees the switch as settled — "We have the Mercedes engine, which is a good engine" — and calls it "clearly a trigger of our recovery this year."

So BYD's grand prix ambition remains, in Li's own word, a dream rather than a project. The sticking point is the regulations: without a future engine or technology formula that rewards BYD's battery and EV know-how, the biggest EV maker on earth seems happy to spectate from the Goodwood banking. The FIA's hunt for a Chinese team keeps the door ajar — but any entry will come on BYD's terms.