BYD F1 entry would fulfill a longtime ambition: FIA president

The potential entry of the Chinese manufacturer BYD into Formula 1 would fulfill a longtime ambition of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said in a media interview in Macau on Sunday.

Questioned by the media on the matter during an interview on the sidelines of a visit to the Coloane Karting Track, Ben Sulayem admitted that negotiations have been ongoing for “quite a long time,” adding that the idea of having a Chinese car manufacturer in F1 would fulfill a long-term ambition of the FIA: to have representation from both American and Chinese manufacturers in addition to the more common European ones.

“I had meetings with the CEO of BYD more than once, the most recent taking place recently in Monaco,” he explained, noting that the FIA had no issue opening an expression of interest, “As long as we have the right team.”

“There are so many teams, and someone can come and buy a team, but if the FIA decides to open an expression of interest, BYD is definitely a heavyweight. You see, to me, we were missing things when I first arrived in the FIA presidency,” Ben Sulayem said.

“We were missing an OEM from the United States among all the manufacturers. And we were missing an OEM [Original Equipment Manufacturer] from China and another from the United States. Those were the two pillars. We have manufacturers from Germany, Italy, and the UK. So, we addressed the United States gap [with Cadillac], and now we are in negotiations with BYD. The negotiation will not stop. But joining a new team is also a big challenge,” he said, noting that efforts to bring down research and development (R&D) costs are also part of the work to make F1 more attractive to different manufacturers.

“I would say it is ridiculous. We spent over USD200 million on R&D for an engine. So our goal is to bring it back to USD60–70 million, which is more reasonable,” the FIA President said, adding, “It’s about simplicity. And keeping innovation simple. That’s the key.”

Still, he remarked that while the FIA is keen to make this deal work, there are rules to be fulfilled if a manufacturer wants to join F1, adding, “If you are coming and approaching the FIA, you will have to adapt to the rules. The rules are also there, as I said, to address the fact that it’s too expensive. The cost cap is one of the best things that has ever happened.”

Regarding whether BYD is interested in going through the full process and meeting the requirements to join F1, the FIA pesident said, “You need to ask them that one.”

Single fuel supplier might come next

Adding to the idea of reducing costs to keep the series as sustainable as possible, Ben Sulayem raised the possibility of finding a single fuel supplier for F1, following past moves regarding tire suppliers.

“We’re keeping the competition. The single supplier of the tires is one thing. Who knows? You might have a single supplier of fuel [next]. There are a lot of things that are changing here,” Ben Sulayem said, noting that the current rules regarding power units remain in effect until 2031.

Summarizing the idea, the FIA president noted that there are a lot of ideas being aired about what the future should look like, but the most important thing is that the FIA needs to lead such changes, and that is what it is doing, he remarked.