FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem sets eyes on next target after Cadillac entry
Mohammed Ben Sulayem revealed his next target country for a Formula 1 team after American carmaker General Motors.
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Mohammed Ben Sulayem (via IMAGO) Cadillac (via Cadillac)
American automaker General Motors will enter Formula 1 in 2026 with its Cadillac brand. This will mark the eleventh team on the grid. Now, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has revealed that he is now trying to lure in another team in the near future.
Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. However, the sport lacked manufacturers from two key markets in recent years, the US and China. Haas is an American team, albeit it is not a carmaker. Ben Sulayem admitted that it has been his dream to lure in two auto giants from the two biggest markets for cars.
For two years I have been dreaming that large countries are present in Formula 1.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem told Le Figaro
Mohammed Ben Sulayem was glad to see one of the targets being achieved with Cadillac. Now, the FIA President set his sights on bringing a big Chinese carmaker into the sport, pointing out that F1 already got a Chinese driver, Zhou Guanyu on the grid. Though, he will be switching to a reserve role with Scuderia Ferrari this year.
The United States will be there with General Motors and the next step will be to welcome a Chinese producer. The pilot is already there.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem explained
More teams to be ‘good’ for F1
Ben Sulayem asserted that Formula 1 needed more teams rather than an increase in the number of races in its ever-expanding calendar. The 63-year-old reckoned that this was the reason for his push towards getting General Motors as an eleventh team despite the initial opposition from existing teams on the grid. The FIA President insisted that more teams are better for the sport in the long run.
From the beginning I said that I think less GP is needed but more teams. That’s why we involved General Motors with Cadillac. Many were against, but it was a good decision for sport.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem added
Certainly, Formula 1 will garner much more interest in China if it gets a carmaker like SAIC or Geely onboard. However, this might be a tough task with no reports over a Chinese team considering an entry into the pinnacle of motorsport. As such, fans might need to wait longer to see this happen.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2423 Articles Published)