BYD made it clear that it only considers participating in Formula 1 if it can contribute technologically. The Chinese manufacturer ruled out entering the category just to expose its brand on a car.
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In recent months, the company has shown interest in F1 and confirmed talks about a possible approach. Vice President Stella Li, however, cooled the idea of an immediate application to become the 12th team on the grid, stating that there is still no concrete project.
“For BYD, we are leaders in technology. We are looking for opportunities to understand if our technology can help the FIA and other teams,” Li explained. She also acknowledged that the category can help strengthen the global brand, but emphasized that this would not be the only goal.
Special advisor Alfredo Altavilla was even more direct when commenting on the topic. “We would never participate in Formula 1 just to put a sticker on the side of a car. There are better ways to invest that money,” he said. According to him, BYD would only be interested if it found a way to act as a technological partner of the category.
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The company is also cautiously monitoring the path of future rules. Although the current regulations have a strong presence of electrification, the next generation of engines may reduce the hybrid component and adopt V8 engines with sustainable fuels, a direction that may not align with BYD’s strategy.
For now, the manufacturer remains in the evaluation phase. “The dream always exists, but we don’t have a concrete agenda,” Li summarized. The trend is that any future involvement will be more related to technology transfer than to creating its own team.
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