Why a 12th F1 team is now on the cards – Since the acquisition of the commercial rights to Formula One by US based Liberty Media, interest in the sport has exploded across the world. The number of race weekends has now reached an all time high and across the grid the incremental interest in the sport has seen the number of team sponsors and partners more than double in under a decade.

The news this week that Apple is substantially outbidding the current US F1 broadcaster ESPN for the rights from next year onwards is further evidence of the significant growth in popularity of the sport in North America. ESPN has been televising F1 since 2018 when NBC failed to renew its $4m a year licensing arrangement with the sport.

The Disney owned channel originally acquired the rights at no cost given the lack of competition, although as F1’s popularity boomed due to the success of the Netflix series, “Drive to Survive” come 2020 they agreed a $5m a year fee with FOM. The following season ESPN agreed a massive increase in the annual fee reported to be around $85m a year, but now the rights will expire at the end of this season.

 

 

 

F1 revenues booming

Apple have offered to commit to a five year deal with an annual fee of $150m to Formula One and with ESPN sources suggesting they will not match this offer. This year ESPN are averaging 1.3m viewers per race, almost double the numbers they inherited from NBC. However, there are concerns that by hiding the sport behind a streaming paywall, viewers may in fact decrease with the casual observers refusing to pay the monthly Apple TV+. 

Over a five year timescale, Formula One would receive three quarters of a billion dollars in revenue from Apple, a substantial increase over the recent $5m a year ESPN was paying. And this is just one example of how F1’s revenues are soaring. To this end FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem now claims it will be easier for a new 12th team to join F1, than the by the arduous process Andretti, then rebranded Cadillac, suffered.

Reports of a Chinese team joining the grid are growing more frequent, something Ben Sulayem first revealed in February this year. “It’s been my dream for the last two years that the big countries should have a presence in Formula 1,” Ben Sulayem told French newspaper Le Figaro.

“The United States will be with General Motors. The next step is to welcome a Chinese manufacturer. We already have a driver,” said the FIA president referring to Guanyu Zhou, who will be a Ferrari reserve in 2025. Ben Sulayem also stated his view was that 20 race weekends were enough, although this wouldn’t sit well with the commercial rights holder.

Formula 1: ‘V8 set to return’

 

 

 

Chinese 12th team in discussions

Now it appears matters have progressed further as talks with a manufacturer have continued, to bring the world’s biggest market for road cars into the world of Formula One. In a stark claim, Ben Sulayem suggests that the FIA and the commercial rights holders are now unified over the approval of a 12th team. This was not the case when Andretti made its bid as the FIA approved the application, but FOM were dragged into line a year later due to the long arm of the US Justice department and threats of multi-billion fines for anti-competitive practices.

“Talks. I still feel that we need more teams [rather] than more races. If there is a Chinese [bid] I will speak on behalf of FOM [Formula One Management] now, in front of you, they will agree on that because it is good for business,” Ben Sulayem surprisingly now explains. “Think of the long term. If there is another team from China, they [will] approve it, 100 per cent they will approve it. Wouldn’t it make more money with China coming in? I believe [so], yes. Do we have to fill up another 12th team for the sake of filling up that 12th team? No, it will be the right team.”

Despite being more than double the size of the North American market, China is yet to take to Formula One, and its viewer numbers are a fraction of those in the US. Yet as the Apple bid this week demonstrates, even just engaging a small percentage of the 1bn population, would bring huge value in terms of TV contracts running into the billions of dollars over a fixed term contract.

The original position of FOM that an eleventh team did not bring value which was accorded to the Andretti bid, has this week proven not to be the case and Liberty media are believed to be requesting Apple to increase their bid to $180m a year.

F1 drivers gagged over ‘hated’ 2026 regulations

 

 

 

Geely in pole position

Ben Sulayem suggests “the time will come when we feel it right to open an Expression of Interest,” as he did unilaterally early in the 2023 season for Andretti. Yet getting a new F1 team to the grid, is not the work of a moment as Andretti/Cadillac demonstrated with the earliest timescale being towards the end of this decade. Yet with the proposal of a return to V8 engines under serious discussion, this will be the time the F1 teams  costs will be reduced by around half on what they currently spend on the complex hybrid powertrains.

China’s road car market is unparalleled in global annual sales, with some 30 million cars sold annually – more than the USA, Japan and India combined. There have been reports that the Geely automotive company would be a good fit for Formula One given its global presence and stakes in brands like e Lotus, Renault and Volvo.

Geely undertook a joint venture with Renault last year, forming HORSE powertrains which specialise in producing engines for multiple automotive brands. Here they are showcasing the technical expertise required to compete at the highest level in motorsport.

Liberty Media have made no response to the FIA presidents latest calls for a 12th team, although Ben Sulayem’s statement that ‘he speaks for them’ would be highly provocative between the often estranged partners, if that was not the case.

 

 

 

Red Bull: Short term gain for long term pain

As the dust settles in Milton Keynes after a week of emotion and shock following the sacking of Christian Horner, theres one huge question which remains unanswered. Why did the Austrian administrators at the Red Bull Racing parent company decide to part company with the second most successful F1 team boss in history.

Now in fourth place in the constructors’ title race, Red Bull are in their lowest position since their terrible 2015 season. This fact alone has precipitated theories suggesting Horner’s removal was based on a perceived lack of performance as McLaren run away with both championships in 2025.

Yet this is a nonsense proposition given the biggest change in the F1 car and power unit design regulations is just months away. Further, under founder Didi Mateschitz the decision was taken for Red Bull to become the first engine customer team to build their own powertrain. All in all this means the pecking order in 2026 could literally see any of the 11 teams ace the regulations as did Brawn in 2009…. READ MORE