{"id":35786,"date":"2025-07-10T11:37:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T15:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=35786"},"modified":"2025-07-10T11:38:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T15:38:38","slug":"f1-needs-more-teams-says-fia-president-ben-sulayem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/07\/10\/f1-needs-more-teams-says-fia-president-ben-sulayem\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 Needs “More Teams” says FIA President Ben Sulayem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cadillac<\/a> will become the 11th team in Formula 1 next year, securing their place on the grid after years of negotiations with FOM [Formula One Management]. Following Cadillac’s successful entry, other aspiring teams have a clear blueprint for joining F1.<\/p>\n

According to FIA President Ben Sulayem, the sport should be welcome to a 12th squad in the paddock.<\/p>\n

Ben Sulayem reveals potential for 12th team<\/h2>\n

For some time, Cadillac’s aspirations of joining Formula 1 were very limited.<\/p>\n

In fact, the American team’s initial failure to reach an agreement with FOM would be better described as that of the Andretti’s.<\/p>\n

It was Michael Andretti<\/a> who started this project initially, committing to making his own F1 team after failed negotiations over a Sauber takeover.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Photo by Clive Rose\/Getty Images) \/\/ Getty Images \/ Red Bull Content Pool<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, it soon became that Andretti’s relationship with Greg Maffei (formerly Liberty Media CEO) would obstruct his path into Formula 1.<\/p>\n

As a result, it is Cadillac – in partnership with General Motors – who were necessary to get FOM’s approval.<\/p>\n

Under the leadership of team principal Graeme Lowdon<\/a>, Cadillac are full steam ahead with their 2026 preparations .<\/p>\n

Despite only receiving approval to join Formula 1 last year, the US project has been operating under the assumption they would eventually be accepted for several years.<\/p>\n

Speaking to several media outlets, FIA President Ben Sulayem<\/a> explained that a 12th F1 team is possible:<\/p>\n

“I still feel we need more teams than races…<\/em><\/p>\n

“When we opened the expression of interest [for an 11th team], what was the outcome based on?<\/em><\/p>\n

“Due process, competency framework, and without looking which company it was – as long as it fulfilled the requirements of the FIA.<\/em><\/p>\n

“We have an 11th team, I believe we should look into the performance of the 11th team – a<\/em>nd then, if there is a Chinese [entry bid], and I will speak behalf of FOM now in front of you – they will agree to that.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Because it is about sustaining the business.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Max Verstappen talks with Mohammed ben Sulayem, FIA President. (Photo by Zak Mauger\/LAT Images) \/\/ Getty Images \/ Red Bull Content Pool<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whispers in the background<\/h4>\n

Because of the resources necessary to be competitive in Formula 1, any aspiring entrants must spend years preparing for a specific set of regulations.<\/p>\n

This means it won’t be until the next set of regulations finish (2029 at the earliest) that a new name can join the grid.<\/p>\n

However, this does not mean there aren’t other aspiring F1 projects in the background.<\/p>\n

Otmar Szafnauer, former Alpine<\/a> team principal, says he has multiple investors supporting a project he is working on.<\/p>\n

Perhaps more importantly, the 60-year-old says an engine manufacturer is on board.<\/p>\n

This is significant because, beyond paying F1’s entry fee, candidates need to convince FOM they are deserving of a place.<\/p>\n

When these negotiations occur, manufacturers always have a better chance of getting across the line.<\/p>\n

General Motors’<\/a> commitment to producing their own engines was instrumental in getting Cadillac the green light.<\/p>\n

In this sense, any future projects must demonstrate the financial muscle and commercial potential to justify diluting F1’s prize pool.<\/p>\n

Main photo: Clive Rose\/Getty Images (Red Bull content pool)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cadillac will become the 11th team in Formula 1 next year, securing their place on the grid after years of negotiations with FOM [Formula One Management]. Following Cadillac’s successful entry, other aspiring teams have a clear blueprint for joining F1. According to FIA President Ben Sulayem, the sport should be welcome to a 12th squad […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":35787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[2452,2557,1822],"class_list":["post-35786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-f1-2025-season","tag-fia-presdient","tag-mohammed-ben-sulayem"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35786"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35794,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35786\/revisions\/35794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}