FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem Looks Forward to a 12th Team on Formula 1 Grid!

Formula 1 may welcome yet another team on the grid according to the FIA

The 2026 Formula 1 season will mark a significant change in F1 racing. For the first time in many years, a 11th team is going to race on the grid. Two major automotive giants- Audi and Cadillac are going to join Formula 1 in 2026. Audi will take over the Kick Sauber F1 team whereas, Cadillac F1 are going to field and entirely new team from scratch.

Cadillac’s arrival to Formula 1 was nothing short of dramatic. The team was initially going to join as Andretti Autosport, however it did not get the green signal from FIA. Cadillac had to pay a huge sum in order to become a part of F1 racing in 2026. Now, the paddock is eagerly waiting for them to reveal their driver lineup. But, is Formula 1 ready to accept yet another team on the grid for a 12th outfit in the upcoming years?

Mohammen Ben Sulayem Wants More Teams Instead of Races

The FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem is a supporter of more teams on the Formula 1 grid. Ben Sulayem has been talking about inviting more teams to the paddock in order to increase Formula 1’s reach. The FIA President believes that tracks are wide enough to allow racing between more cars.

Ben Sulayem also talks about how drivers have been asking him to reduce the number of races. The current Formula 1 season features a total of 24 races in a season. It is the longest schedule in Formula 1 history which gives almost no breathing time to the drivers and teams. FIA is getting ready to announce another Expression of Interests program for the Formula 1 grid.

Speaking to Reuters, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said he thinks #F1 needs "more teams and fewer races" 📈📉

Do you agree with him? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/SovFqhvRvC
— Autosport (@autosport) October 10, 2023

“I still feel we need more teams than races. The drivers are coming to me and saying, ‘Please, no more races’. The time will come when we feel it right to open an Expression of Interest.”

“We are not here to upset the other teams, but it won’t be just for the sake of doing it. It has to be worth it. For us, the team has to add value to sustaining the business of Formula 1, and the business of Formula 1 is not about the income, it’s about the longevity of the championship itself.”

The FIA head is rather supportive of the idea of more cars racing on the grid. He is looking forward towards welcoming a team from China in particular. Arguably, the strategy for Formula 1 management is trying to gain more followers all over the world.

There are still some tracks which are extremely narrow for the current grid. In such case, will Formula 1 end up dropping these historic tracks to facilitate their dream of 12 teams racing on grid? This is a question which is being debated for a long time in the community.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see the teams which try to join the Formula 1 Expression of Interest programs. The two new competitors joining in 2026 are going to set a benchmark for what we can expect from new generation F1 teams.

FIA

Formula 1

Mohammed Ben Sulayem

Rohan Singh

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.