BYD Formula 1 ambition raises major questions as Christian Horner talks emerge
- jamiezarish
- Jun 1
- 9 min read
Story by Thomas Maher
BYD may be eying a Formula 1 team entry, but there are several questions raised by its apparent interest.
The Chinese EV and hybrid electric car manufacturer is understood to be very keen on establishing a presence on the F1 grid, with vice-president Stella Li recently confirming conversations with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali to signal interest.
Is BYD going to enter the race to become a Formula 1 team?
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How would BYD align with Formula 1’s potential return to V8 engines despite its all-electric identity?
Would BYD develop its own Formula 1 power unit or rely on a technical partnership with another manufacturer?
Could Christian Horner’s experience and connections help BYD overcome the political and commercial hurdles of joining the grid?
Before the Canadian Grand Prix, PlanetF1.com revealed that BYD vice-president Stella Li had met with Christian Horner, the former Red Bull team boss and CEO, kicking off conversations about the potential for the automaker in Formula 1.
With speculation recently emerging that BYD has signalled interest in entering the bidding war for the 24 per cent stake in Alpine currently owned by Otro Capital, it’s understood that the car company’s priority is actually in establishing its own team.
Pulling together an actual physical team entity is the ‘easy’ part of this process: BYD isn’t short of facilities around the world that could be transformed into an F1 operations base, although it has previously ruled out the possibility of establishing UK factories following the “instability” brought on by Brexit, according to its European president, Michael Shu.
But while the majority of F1 teams operate out of the UK, or have a UK base, this model does appear to be evolving: Ferrari builds everything from its factory in Maranello, Audi splits its chassis and power unit centres between Switzerland and Germany, while Cadillac’s current split between the UK and US will see it move its ‘centre of gravity’ to the US over the coming years.
How BYD could enter Formula 1
In terms of administration, BYD’s entry would involve the FIA starting an Expression of Interest process, requiring the governing body to carry out stress testing and viability tests of potential entries before a judgment of acceptance and passing over to the commercial rights holder, FOM.
It’s a process that the new Cadillac team is all too familiar with: in its original Andretti iteration, the burgeoning team passed the FIA’s checks, but was rejected by FOM.
It was only after the bolstering of the effort by adding the Cadillac name above the door, giving the illusion of deep manufacturer interest, that Dan Towriss’ TWG cleared the final hurdles (eased considerably by pressure from a US Department of Justice investigation into the matter).
But BYD already has some factors in its favour: it is already one of the world’s biggest automakers, with a $125billion market valuation, bested only by Tesla ($1.5trillion) and Toyota ($244billion).
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It also appears to have a mild ‘pre-approval’ from the FIA, with president Mohammed Ben Sulayem saying last summer that a proposal from a legitimate Chinese manufacturer would likely be accepted.
“If there is a Chinese [bid], and I will speak on behalf of them [FOM] now in front of you, they will agree to that, because it is about sustaining the business,” he told select media including PlanetF1.com at last year’s British Grand Prix.
“If there is a team from China, let’s say, and FOM approved it, and I am 100 per cent they will approve it, wouldn’t it make more money with China coming in? I believe, yes.
“Do we have to fill up [the grid] with a 12th team for the sake of filling up [the grid] with a 12th team? No. It will be the right team.
“I am here as a sportsman, and I’d like to keep the spirit of the sport.
“Of course, they will have to say, ‘Oh, it’s a piece of cake, and now it’s been divided into 11.’ Yes, I see the point. But the revenue is getting bigger.
“The time will come when we feel it right to open an Expression of Interest.
“We are not here to upset the other teams, but it won’t be just for the sake of doing it. It has to be worth it.
“For us, the [12th] team has to add value to sustaining the business of Formula 1, and the business of Formula 1 is not about the income, it’s about the longevity of the championship itself.”
With Li and Horner having several meetings together as the former Red Bull executive travelled to the south of France, Li is said to be “very excited” and eager to enter Formula 1, with Horner’s expertise and track record making him a particularly attractive proposition to help ease the process, should he see the BYD option as being the most viable and suitable for him to pursue an F1 return with.
After all, Horner is no stranger to building up a new entity from scratch, having done just that when Red Bull purchased the former Jaguar team and factory at Milton Keynes and overhauled the former Ford-owned operation into something fitting the Red Bull ethos.
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His track record and political acumen are also factors, as would be his ability to attract strong personnel from rival teams, and his long-standing relationships with Ben Sulayem and Liberty Media would also stand in BYD’s favour if he were part of the entry process.
Last month, Li was quoted as confirming meetings with Domenicali in Shanghai, emphasising BYD’s interest in joining the grid.
“We are always in close contact,” she said.
“I like Formula 1 because it’s about passion and culture, and people dream of being in Formula 1.”
Li affirmed that BYD is “discussing” the possibility of joining the Formula 1 grid, which would provide the opportunity to “put our technology to the test.”
Christian Horner has held a series of meetings with BYD vice-president Stella Li as the Chinese EV manufacturer eyes up an F1 opportunity.
How would F1’s future engine regulations match BYD’s company ethos?
But BYD’s interest in Formula 1 does raise some questions of just how its mooted entry might look.
The Chinese manufacturer is said to be most interested in establishing itself as a new team, and, having boasted a 7.7 per cent increase in global car unit sales to 4.6million as its worldwide expansion continued in 2025, its net earnings were CNY 32.6billion ($4.7billion), has more than sufficient financial means to be able to consider an F1 entry.
After all, BYD appears quite interested in establishing itself as a manufacturer of note when it comes to engineering prowess, with its performance sub-brand, Yangwang, recently setting new performance records for production cars.
It currently holds the production-car top-speed world record, with the Yangwang U9 Extreme logging 496.22 km/h in a speed attempt last summer, as well as a Nürburgring lap record of 6:59.157 to become the first electric sports car to dip under the seven-minute mark.
However, BYD’s interest comes exactly at a time when Formula 1 is eyeing up ways to distance itself from the electrification journey it embarked upon with its current regulation set.
The F1 2026 regulations tempted several manufacturers back into the sport, with the 50/50 combustion vs. electrification power units marrying nicely with the electrification strategies of the likes of Audi, Honda, and Ford when it comes to road relevance.
However, the realities of the constraints created by these new power units have already seen serious pushback from the drivers and fans, due to the unusual techniques required to optimise the energy systems, meaning that there have already been steps taken to reduce the harvesting requirements and push the emphasis back marginally on the ICE.
An agreement “in principle” has already been announced for 2027 to reduce the electrical aspect to a 60/40 split with combustion, and the FIA has already shown a hardline stance for the new engine regulations from 2030/31, as Ben Sulayem has stated a V8 with a small electrical contribution is the likely path forward, with or without manufacturer agreement.
But this is seemingly at odds with everything BYD is as a manufacturer, having called an end to the production of internal combustion engines almost five years ago in order to concentrate solely on electrical and hybrid motors.
BYD’s advantage in the automotive market is in its ability to call upon its own vertical integration, in that its car arm, BYD Auto, utilises in-house production from other subsidiaries of the BYD group, such as FinDreams Battery.
This is the world’s second-largest EV battery manufacturer, while other subsidiaries of BYD and Findreams sees it able to create semiconductors, motors, lighting, powertrains, and moulding.
While the current regulations therefore sit quite well for a new energy vehicle manufacturer such as BYD, the next regulation set of an old-school V8, even with sustainable fuels and an electrical element, seemingly flies in the face of what BYD currently is; how does a de-electrified F1 match up with the ethos of a company built around electrical and hybrid drivetrains?
This would therefore suggest that, if BYD is undeterred by this change of direction and is to enter Formula 1, it would need to weigh up its options: would it want to be involved in the creation of its own power unit, therefore likely needing a technical partner, or go down the route of simply being a customer team?
The optics of merely being a customer team, as a new entry, doesn’t seem that likely: while Cadillac has done so in order to get started, General Motors has established its own power unit division and is investing significantly into becoming an autonomous manufacturer by the end of the decade, while Audi has gone all in by buying the Sauber squad in Switzerland alongside establishing its powertrain department in Neuburg in Germany.
Why, then, would BYD become a customer if it meant having to rely heavily on another manufacturer for a power unit, given Li’s interest in putting its own “technology to the test”?
Granted, there is considerable marketing upside regardless. While BYD enjoys huge market penetration in China as the country’s top-selling manufacturer, a presence in F1 would boost its image internationally, as well as offering research and development synergy between the sporting and automotive arenas.
On top of that, there’s also the upside of being able to bring an ‘F1 mentality’ to its global workforce, offering considerable knowledge and upskilling opportunities for its staff, such as what Toyota is currently doing with Haas.
It would therefore appear that BYD, if it is to arrive in Formula 1, may have to think hard about whether creating a V8 combustion engine with an electrification top-up is in line with its expectations, or go down the route of a technical partnership with another power unit manufacturer, such as what Ford has done with Red Bull Powertrains.
How this might look is something that can only be guessed at right now: if a BYD team becomes a reality, majority suppliers such as Mercedes and Ferrari are unlikely to deviate from their standard customer supply arrangements.
But, for the likes of Audi and Honda, both of whom only supply one team, could a technical partnership evolve to create a combined Audi-BYD or Honda-BYD power unit? Or what about a Toyota-BYD combined effort, given the Japanese manufacturer’s increasing interest in a Formula 1 return, which could therefore be in the back of the Haas and BYD cars?
Or, what about an RBPT-BYD? Ford has insisted a V8 return wouldn’t dim its interest in Formula 1, and the RBPT-Ford partnership has only just begun in earnest but, should the relationship come to a natural end over the coming years, might Horner’s long-standing relationship and knowledge of Red Bull and the personnel he himself put in place at RBPT therefore pave the way to making a BYD project a natural successor for Ford?
There’s also the question of whether such a manufacturer partnership would even be needed.
With a simpler V8 architecture not being particularly complicated or expensive compared to the current hybrids, maybe it is something BYD could look to do by itself, even if the technology transfer back to its automotive efforts is inconsequential.
Or… could it even look into establishing an off-the-shelf arrangement with the likes of a tried-and-tested supplier, such as Cosworth or Mecachrome?
There’s also the hypothetical of whether an Audi-esque option might emerge if BYD does opt against lodging an Expression of Interest as a new entity and, instead, looks to buy an existing team. None, officially, is for sale, but there is the obvious minority shareholding in Alpine, if that comparatively small slice is enough to satiate its interest, but there is an option that could emerge should Zak Brown be successful in getting the FIA to introduce legislation regarding common team ownership.
With the McLaren CEO known to be calling upon Ben Sulayem to
start exploring ways to unravel existing common team ownership structures, this would place the Red Bull-owned Racing Bulls squad in the spotlight if the FIA decides teams can no longer have common owners that raise the possibility of a conflict of interest in a competitive context.
Obviously, this is distant speculation for now, but with BYD known to be interested in coming into Formula 1, there are several puzzling aspects of just how such a project might evolve.
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