The FIA has started an applications process for new teams to enter Formula 1 from 2025.
The governing body of motorsport announced “the official launch of an application process to identify prospective teams seeking to participate at a competitive level in the FIA Formula One World Championship.”
Successful new applicants may choose to enter in 2025, 2026 – when new technical regulations are due for introduction – or 2027.
The FIA says it will determine which if any candidates are chosen based on “the overall long-term interests of the championship, together with the applicable regulations and governance arrangements.”
Its criteria for judging which teams are permitted to enter will cover eight points. These include “the technical ability and resources of the team” and “the ability of the team to meet and comply with its obligations under the F1 Sporting, Technical, and Financial Regulations.”
Applicants will also have to show they can cope with the financial demands of participating in F1. The FIA will assess “the ability of the team to raise and maintain sufficient funding to meet its financial obligations and to allow participation in the championship at a competitive level” and applicants must provide “a detailed business plan (including financial projections) for the first five years of the project; the team’s experience and capabilities in the automobile and/or motorsport sector (including technical experience, racing experience, facilities, equipment, and engineering resources) and relevant staff headcount/ experience.”
The hopeful entrants must also indicate “whether the team and all individuals proposing to participate in the ownership, control, or management of the team are fit and proper persons” and provide “considerations of sustainability, EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion), and societal benefit” of their entry.
Finally, the FIA will consider an “assessment of the value that the candidate may bring to the championship, including consideration of its reputation and integrity.”
The FIA noted that F1’s commercial rights holder, Liberty Media, “may also impose additional selection criteria/conditions (to be advised separately during the application process).” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has previously indicated his resistance to expanding the grid beyond its current 10 teams.
The FIA said it “anticipates” the final deadline for applications to be submitted will be April 30th 2023, and a decision will follow by June 30th.
“For the avoidance of doubt, no new applicant has an automatic right of entry to the championship and the maximum number of teams competing in the Championship up to and including the 2025 season is capped at 12. Existing F1 teams will be given priority over new applicants. In the event that no applicant is considered suitable by the FIA and/or by the F1 Commercial Rights Holder, no new F1 team(s) will be selected.”
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