The biggest electric vehicle manufacturer on the planet has confirmed it is in conversation with Formula 1. BYD vice president Stella Li made the announcement at the Beijing Motor Show, telling Sportmediaset that the Chinese automotive giant has met with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and maintains an active relationship with the sport’s commercial leadership. The statement was brief. The implications are anything but.

“We met Stefano Domenicali in Shanghai. We maintain a warm relationship and are in regular contact,” Li said. When asked directly whether BYD’s participation in Formula 1 was a genuine possibility, her answer left no room for interpretation. “Yes, we are talking about it. It’s a real opportunity to test our technology.”

BYD is not a fringe player looking for a moment in the spotlight. The Shenzhen-based company recently overtook Tesla to become the world’s top seller of electric vehicles, a milestone that repositioned it as one of the most commercially powerful automotive brands on earth. Its entry into Formula 1, in whatever form it takes, would represent the most significant manufacturer arrival in the sport in years.

What that form might be remains unclear. BYD has previously held discussions with Formula E, the all-electric single-seater series, but those conversations have now expanded to include F1. Whether the Chinese brand is exploring the creation of an entirely new team or a partnership with an existing outfit has not been confirmed. What is confirmed is that meetings have taken place at the highest level.

The political and sporting context makes BYD’s interest particularly significant. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has publicly stated his desire to welcome a 12th team into the championship, and has been explicit about his preference for a Chinese manufacturer to fill that role. Formula 1 currently has no team based in China and no Chinese constructor in its history. BYD’s entry would change both of those facts simultaneously, opening the sport to a market of over 1.4 billion people that Liberty Media has been aggressively courting since taking over the commercial rights.

Li herself framed the interest in human terms as much as commercial ones. “I love Formula 1 because it’s all about passion and culture, and people dream of driving in Formula 1.” For a company that has built its global identity around the idea of making electric mobility aspirational, the alignment with F1’s own narrative of technological ambition is not incidental. It is strategic.

The 2026 technical regulations, which introduced a hybrid power unit with a significantly elevated role for electrical energy, have made Formula 1 more relevant than ever to manufacturers whose core business is built around electrification. BYD does not need F1 to prove its batteries work. It needs F1 to prove they work at the extreme edge of human and mechanical performance. That is a very different proposition, and a far more compelling one.

No timeline has been confirmed. No deal has been announced. But when the vice president of the world’s largest EV manufacturer stands at the Beijing Motor Show and says “yes, we are talking about it”, Formula 1 listens. And so does everyone else.

Thumbnail credits: Roman Nurutdinov | Dreamstime.com