Formula 1 could expand to 12 teams now that General Motors brand Cadillac has been accepted as the 11th from 2026, according to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
F1 has always had provision for 12 teams in the rules, but there was strong opposition from commercial rights holder Liberty Media and existing teams to going beyond 10 before a deal was reached.
“Why not?” Ben Sulayem told Reuters at Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix when asked whether he would like to see the final slot filled.
“It’s about doing the right thing. So why do we have an option of 12 if we are going to say no, no, no?
“With me it is very clear it is a win for everyone with the 11th team.”
Cadillac last week announced an agreement in principle with F1 while General Motors registered with the governing FIA as a power unit manufacturer to become a full works outfit by the end of the decade.
F1 had said in January that it doubted the bid, originally presented as Andretti, would be competitive or add value, but it relented after the original approach was repositioned as a manufacturer-led one and Michael Andretti stepped back.
An investigation opened by the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee into possible “anticompetitive conduct” also changed the landscape.
“I had a meeting with them, and I was questioned,” Ben Sulayem said. “I have nothing to hide. I’m an elected president, you know … based on governance and democracy and transparency. So we did what the FIA did. And I am proud of what the team did.”
Ben Sulayem hailed the agreement as very important for the sport and said he had been “sent to hell” and back after the FIA approved the Andretti bid last year and passed it on to F1 for consideration.
According to the FIA president, the bid was always about quality rather than numbers — about getting General Motors fully on board as a manufacturer and not about Andretti. Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali had agreed with that.
“He said, ‘We need an OEM [(original equipment) manufacturer], not just an extra team,'” Ben Sulayem said. “So they disappeared for a few months and they came back with an OEM.”
The Emirati also said F1 had then raised the power unit as an issue. “So they came up with a power unit. They ticked the boxes there. And we couldn’t say anymore no to them.”
Andretti was the sole applicant sent forward for commercial discussions with F1 from four that made the second stage of the process last year.
Failed applications included New Zealand-based Rodin Cars, who had committed to reserving one driver seat for a woman, and a Hitech team backed by Kazakh billionaire businessman Vladimir Kim.
Hitech boss Oliver Oakes is now principal of the Renault-owned Alpine F1 team.
Meanwhile, the sport is enjoying a surge of support in the Middle East with younger female fans the fastest-growing demographic globally, according to data published by Nielsen Sports on Tuesday.
The Gulf region has four races, one more than the United States, in a season that ends this weekend at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina with McLaren and Ferrari fighting for the constructors’ title.
The figures showed interest among girls and women increasing by 11% compared with last year in Saudi Arabia and a 10% increase among men, with the biggest growth in the 50-69 age bracket.
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, hosted a race for the first time in 2021, and Saudi energy giant Aramco sponsors Aston Martin as well as the sport as a whole.
“New sponsor categories are opening up. We’re seeing a significant shift in the brands engaging in the sport attracted to this changing fan demographic,” Nielsen Sports’ global general manager Jon Stainer said.