British racing team who developed one of F1’s worst drivers make bid to join grid

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British racing team Hitech have launched a bid to join the Formula 1 grid in 2026.

A press release from their website has confirmed that Hitech have made an application to join Formula 1 after a partial sale of the team.

Hitech announced a 25% sale of the team led by Kazakh business Vladimir Kim.

After completing a partial purchase of the team, Kim said: “Motorsport has been a long-standing personal interest for me, and I am delighted to be entering into a partnership with an organization that has enjoyed success in so many categories and has such ambitions for its future.

“We have an established involvement with sport; however, this is our first global investment in motorsport.

“Its dynamic appeal, growing exposure, business-to-business marketing opportunities and burgeoning fan base are aligned with my ambitions personally and commercially.”

The 2026 season is shaping up to be one of the most important in recent history for Formula 1.

New rule changes come in that many will hope makes the racing more exciting and brings the teams closer together.

Audi will also be joining the grid, taking over from Sauber who are currently branded as Alfa Romeo and have already named their first driver.

Michael Andretti has also made it clear he would like to enter Formula 1 at the same time as Hitech.

Whether F1 would allow two new teams to join at the same time is another matter.

Hitech make bid to join Formula 1 in 2026

As part of their press release, Hitech said that after 20 months of preparations, they’ve made their application to join the F1 grid.

Hitech have never raced in Formula 1, but have a reputation within the sport’s feeder series.

They’ve raced in Formula 2 since 2020 and Formula 3 since 2019.

Only one of their drivers has ever reached Formula 1, although he struggled when he stepped up from F2.

Nikita Mazepin drove for Hitech in 2020 before being signed by Haas in 2021.

The Russian didn’t score a point during his 22 races and was replaced ahead of the 2022 campaign by Kevin Magnussen.

He infamously spun off just three corners into his F1 career despite having no contact with another driver.

Mazepin lost his seat in F1 due to his primary sponsor’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Hitech now have a reputation for hiring some of the most exciting young talents in racing for their F2 and F3 teams.

Juri Vips, Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar, Dennis Hauger, Roman Stanek and Gabriele Mini have all driven for Hitech.

Their best drivers tend to move on to stronger teams such as Prima to challenge for titles.

However, Hitech are brilliant at identifying these drivers but will need to improve their performances if they step up to the Formula 1 grid.