According to a Bloomberg report, BYD is looking at options to enter competitive motorsport as a way to boost its brand appeal globally. People familiar with the matter told the news outlet this includes a potential entry into Formula One or even endurance racing, either through building its own works team or acquiring an existing one.
An entry into F1 seems plausible for BYD, as the motorsport recently introduce regulation changes that significantly increased the importance of the electrical component of the hybrid powertrain. The new MGU-K is nearly three times as powerful as its predecessor, delivering 350 kW to the rear wheels which is up from 120 kW and now makes up roughly 50% of an F1 car’s power unit output. This aligns with a brand that leans heavily into fully electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles.
However, getting into F1 is a time-consuming and expensive endeavour, with developing and entering a car often taking years of negotiations and costs as much as USD500 million a season. At present, there are 11 teams fielding 22 cars on the grid, with Cadillac being the 11th and newest team entered.
Buying into an existing team is more common, as exemplified by Audi that took full control of Sauber to mark its entry into F1 this season. Alpine Racing stakeholder Otro Capital is reportedly looking for an investor to buy its stake in the racing team, which could be an avenue for would-be entrants.
F1’s return to Shanghai in 2024 after a five-year absence as well as Zhou Guanyu’s participation as the first Chinese F1 driver in 2022 have helped boost the motorsport’s popularity in China. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has also previously expressed his desire to see a Chinese manufacturer join F1 as the grid’s 12th team, as reported by F1i.
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Atto 3’s guitar strings will be included in the F1 car’s design.
FIA president can’t decide. There must be a mojority decision among the existing teams.