FIA chief not ruling out team No 12

Formula One 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 a 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 replied at Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix when asked if 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."

Last week, Cadillac announced an agreement in principle with F1, while General Motors registered with the FIA as a power unit manufacturer, with a view to becoming a full works outfit by the end of the decade.

F1 had said in January it doubted the bid, originally presented as an Andretti one, would be competitive or add value, but relented after the original approach was re-positioned as a manufacturer-led one and Michael Andretti stepped back.

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.

An investigation opened by the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee into possible "anticompetitive conduct" also changed the landscape. Ben Sulayem said that the inquiry had an effect on the outcome.

"I had a meeting with them, and I was questioned. 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," he said.

Ben Sulayem said the bid was always about quality rather than numbers — getting General Motors fully on board as a manufacturer and not about Andretti. F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali had agreed with that.

"He said: 'We need an OEM, not just an extra team'," the Emirati said. "So they disappeared for a few months, and they came back with an OEM."

REUTERS