Formula 1 could welcome the first Chinese team on to the grid in the coming years with a consortium believed to be considering a future entry, according to a report in Germany’s Auto Sport und Motor.
The article suggested employees from the defunct Manor team have already been hired and members of the Red Bull outfit were approached about joining the venture.
Though details are few, it is also believed the potential new team, while backed by Chinese money, would look to be located in F1’s equivalent of ‘Silicon Valley’ in and around Northamptonshire, where Silverstone is located.
No official application for entry has been lodged to the FIA, but three slots are currently available on the grid following the demise of those teams who joined in 2010. Managing director of motorsport for the Formula One Group, Ross Brawn also revealed initial interest from numerous parties has been made since Liberty Media took over at the start of this year.
“About 10 people have asked,” he said.
Any prospective new team may have to wait a while before joining the grid, with the former team boss adding: “They all wanted to know whether we would change the rules so that new teams would be allowed a slice of the prize money distribution.
“However, we told them that we are bound by existing contracts until 2020.”
Christian Horner, who revealed the approaches made to Red Bull team members, also played down the apparent aim of this Chinese consortium of a 2018 entry, declaring: “To start next year with a new team, it is actually already too late.”
Any new team must first pay $20 million up front as a guarantee when applying for an entry with the FIA then completing an evaluation of the financial and technological abilities of the proposed team to be competitive.
Though F1 hasn’t managed to attract the fan base it hoped to when the first race took place in Shanghai 13 years ago, business interest from China has been shown.
Ron Dennis was reportedly in talks with a Chinese group when looking to purchase McLaren, before his eventual exit last year and there was also apparent interest in the commercial rights of the sport before the deal with Liberty Media.