Source:REUTERS/Jakub Porzycki
[Saba Sports News] No Chinese manufacturer team has yet appeared in F1. In response, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell jointly voiced their support for a new Chinese team joining F1. The Chinese Grand Prix just finished, and Hamilton took his first podium since joining Ferrari at this race. Attendance was sold out across the board, with a total of 230,000 spectators. Hamilton admitted he was “completely shocked” to see the stands at turns 11 to 13 “packed to capacity.” As F1’s global influence continues to grow, Hamilton praised the sport’s deepening presence in the Chinese market and said that a Chinese team might be the next step in its development. He believes it would be “a very good thing” if a Chinese automaker were to join the F1 grid in the future. Russell, who currently leads the drivers’ standings, expressed the same view as Hamilton, also emphasizing that interest in F1 in China has risen significantly and that this trend could drive domestic Chinese manufacturers to enter the sport. Recently there have been reports that BYD is considering the possibility of entering F1.
The columnist believes that welcoming a Chinese team into F1 is both an inevitable move in F1’s globalization strategy and a key step for China’s new-energy vehicle industry to move into the global high-end market. Although challenges remain in funding, technology, and operations, given the 2026 technical regulations tailored to the sport, strong market demand, and capable companies, Chinese automakers now have the conditions needed to enter F1.