DUBAI: Formula 1 could expand to 12 teams now that General Motors’ Cadillac brand has been accepted as the 11th from 2026, according to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Formula 1 has always had a limit of 12 in the rules, but commercial rights holder Liberty Media and existing teams have strongly opposed the idea of ​​going beyond 10 before a deal is reached .

“Why not?” Ben Sulayem told Reuters on Sunday at the Qatar Grand Prix when asked if he would like to see the last place taken.

“It’s about doing the right thing. So why do we have an option of 12 if we want to say no, no, no?

“For me it is very clear that it is a victory for everyone with the 11th team.”

Cadillac announced a tentative deal with Formula 1 last week while General Motors has registered with the FIA ​​as a powertrain manufacturer to become a full-fledged factory team by the end of the decade.

Formula 1 said in January it doubted the bid, initially presented under Andretti’s name, would be competitive or add value, but relented after the initial approach was repositioned as led by the manufacturer and that Michael Andretti withdrew.

An investigation opened by the Judiciary Committee of the United States House of Representatives into possible “anti-competitive behavior” also changed the situation.

Ben Sulayem hailed the deal as very important for the sport and said he had been “sent to hell” and back after the FIA ​​approved Andretti’s application last year and passed it on to Formula 1 for review.

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Ben Sulayem said the US investigation into the sport had an effect on the outcome.

“I had a meeting with them and I was questioned. I have nothing to hide. I am an elected president, you know… based on governance, democracy and transparency. So we did what the FIA ​​has done and I am proud. of what the team did,” he said.

Ben Sulayem said the bid was always about quality rather than numbers – fully integrating General Motors as the manufacturer and not Andretti. Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali agreed with this.

“He said ‘we need an OEM (manufacturer), not just an additional team’,” the Emirati said. “So they disappeared for a few months and came back with an OEM.”

Ben Sulayem said Formula 1 then raised the powertrain issue. “So they came up with a powertrain. They checked all the boxes. And we couldn’t say no to them anymore.”

Andretti was the only candidate sent for commercial talks with Formula 1 among four candidates who passed the second stage of the process last year.

Among the rejected applications were New Zealand-based Rodin Cars, which had agreed to reserve a seat for a female driver, and a Hitech team backed by Kazakh billionaire businessman Vladimir Kim.

Hitech boss Oliver Oakes is now principal of the Renault-owned Alpine F1 team.