FIA president confirms two huge manufacturers interested in becoming F1's 12th team

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has confirmed that two huge Chinese manufacturers are interested in becoming F1's 12th team.

After a long process, the F1 grid was expanded from 10 teams to 11 with Cadillac's arrival in 2026, and given the high-profile nature of the sport, there are naturally others keen to join.

Though he stressed that no formal process is yet underway, speaking at the New Economy Forum in Madrid, Ben Sulayem confirmed he has met with Chinese manufacturers BYD and Geely about potentially joining the sport.

The FIA president also stressed that F1 does not need a 12th outfit, and that it would only happen in the future if it was for the right team.

F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton backed in Ferrari row as team boss says contract decision out of his hands

FIA president confirms Chinese interest in F1

“The FIA can open the door for a 12th team,” Ben Sulayem said, as per Grande Premio.

“But do we need a team? No. We don’t need a team; we need the team.”

Ben Sulayem later added: “I met with other manufacturers, and they came saying they wanted to join. One of them was BYD and another was Geely.”

The FIA also revealed what he told the manufacturers during those talks, if indeed they are serious: “Come back with a serious proposal that shows us this is going to work."

BYD interest nothing new

Of course, this is not the first time that we have heard about BYD and their interest in F1.

Earlier this year, the Chinese manufacturer's vice president, Stella Li, revealed that she had been talking with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali about the topic.

"We met Stefano Domenicali in Shanghai. We're always close and in contact," she told SportMediaset.

"I like Formula 1 because it's about passion, culture, and people dream of being in Formula 1."

When asked if joining F1 was a possibility, Li added: "Yes, it's something we're discussing."

Despite that, as stated above, no formal process is yet underway for another team to join the grid, which, based on how long Cadillac's process to join the sport took, means there won't be a 12th team in the near future.

However, the desire is clearly there from some manufacturers to see a 24-car grid, and it will certainly be interesting to see whether BYD, Geely or anyone else can put forward a compelling enough proposal to make their interest in F1 concrete moving forward.

READ MORE: Hamilton backed in Ferrari row as team boss says contract decision out of his hands

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton backed in Charles Leclerc F1 row as Ferrari tensions simmer