Chinese car giant could join F1 as 12th team in shock development

A Chinese car giant could join Formula 1 as the sport's 12th team, according to a new report.

Cadillac became the 11th constructor in Formula 1 at the beginning of 2026, having reached an agreement to enter the sport last year.

Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas are driving for the new American team this season, with former IndyCar star Colton Herta and China's Zhou Guanyu signed as reserve drivers.

Zhou became the first Chinese driver to compete in F1 when he signed for Sauber in 2022, before going on to spend three seasons with the team.

There are various Chinese drivers competing in other formulae, and Shi Wei will compete as a wildcard entry in F1 Academy in 2026, but the prospect of a second Chinese star appearing in Formula 1 in the short-term appears slim.

F1, though, is extremely popular in the Asian country, with Nielsen Sports (via Reuters) finding that there was a 39 per cent increase in Chinese fans in the past 12 months leading up to March 2025.

The official F1 website, meanwhile, noted in August that the sport 'reached over 221 million claimed F1 fans' in China.

China has had a foothold in the sport since 2004, when it began hosting the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit.

A total of 220,000 fans attended the 2025 Grand Prix, with a sold-out crowd expected when F1 returns to Shanghai this weekend for the second race of the 2026 season.

F1 has been held in China since 2004 (Image: Getty)

And a timely report from Bloomberg claims that BYD Auto, China's biggest car manufacturer, is exploring a bid to become Formula 1's 12th team.

BYD focus significantly on electric vehicle (EV) production, and last year overtook Tesla to become the global market leader in all-electric vehicle sales.

At the time of writing, the company was valued at a staggering 848.3 billion Chinese yen (around £91.8 billion) on the Chinese stock market.

Bloomberg report that BYD are 'exploring several options' across motorsport, which include either founding or buying an F1 team, or entering the FIA-administered World Endurance Championship.

It is claimed that the FIA are open to the possibility of BYD joining F1, though F1 president Stefano Domenicali said in September that there was 'no room' for a 12th team after Cadillac joined the sport. The newly-signed Concorde Agreement, which includes provisions for the 11th team, runs until 2030.

BYD Auto is China's biggest car manufacturer (Image: Getty)

The Italian did state, though, that a bid of 'great significance' - which an approach from BYD would almost certainly be - would be considered by the FIA.

"We have to be cautious," he said (via Autosport). "We'll only evaluate a bid of great significance, because I think we're already at a point with no more room - logistically, we're at the limit.

"I see great interest from funds and investors looking to buy current franchises, let's call them that, because a team's value is growing exponentially, and therefore financial interest in investing in F1 is also increasing.

"We see it first-hand because we receive many enquiries, and the same happens to the teams.

"But precisely because things are going well, we must be prudent and protect the value of what we've built."