BYD vice president issues verdict on F1 entry amid FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s support

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BYD vice president Stella Li has confirmed the Chinese automotive giant’s stance on a potential Formula 1 entry after meeting with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali in Shanghai.

Li met Domenicali at the Chinese Grand Prix in March, amid suggestions that BYD may look to join the Formula 1 family in the upcoming seasons. The F1 grid grew to 11 teams this year with the arrival of Cadillac, but there still remains scope for a 12th team to join the paddock.

Formula 1 has kept provisions in its regulations for a 12th team, provided that the new entry adds genuine value to the series. Cadillac, for example, only received F1’s final permission to join the field once General Motors agreed to take over the Andretti entry that F1 shot down.

Finance expert Adam Williams also recently exclusively told F1 Oversteer that the huge price to enter F1 could put BYD off joining the field. On top of the operational costs of creating an F1 team, GM had to pay a £358m anti-dilution fee to the 10 other teams for Cadillac’s entry.

Amid the rumours about BYD, which car brand do you want to see join the F1 grid next?

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Stella Li confirms BYD are ‘discussing’ entering F1 after meeting Stefano Domenicali

A potential future Formula 1 entry is on the cards for BYD, though, as Li has now confirmed to SportMediaset that entering the F1 field is an active conversation for the electric vehicle specialists. Li believes F1 can offer BYD a great proving ground for the brand’s technologies.

“We met Stefano Domenicali in Shanghai,” Li told SportMediaset. “I like Formula 1 because it’s about passion, culture and people dream of being in Formula 1… Yes, it’s something we’re discussing. It’s a real opportunity to test our technology.”

SportMediaset notes that BYD entering F1 ‘is not a given’, however, even though it adds that FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem would support the move. Ben Sulayem wants F1 to have 12 teams on the grid, with at least one team being from China and one from America.

Should BYD explore taking over an existing team to enter F1 instead of creating a new outfit, the Chinese giant could have a couple of options. It has been said that BYD see Aston Martin as a viable team to take over, as Lawrence Stroll is thought to be close to considering selling.

Alternatively, reports have also claimed that Red Bull could sell Racing Bulls to BYD, but an issue lingers as Chinese rivals Geely also hold a potential interest in buying the Faenza outfit. BYD and Geely are both also believed to favour creating a new team, if either does enter F1.