F1 arrives this weekend in Shanghai for the second stage of the debut season of the category’s new regulations, which expanded the electrification of engines, investing precisely in an area of the automotive industry in which China is a global leader. Ironically, the Asian country remains almost absent from the grid.
Although the country has a base of more than 220 million fans and recorded the biggest growth in attendance in 2025 (+39%), the Chinese presence in the category is practically limited to the race held on the Shanghai international circuit since 2004 — this year, scheduled for 4 am (Brasília time) in the early hours of Sunday (15). There are no Chinese teams, drivers or engine manufacturers in the World Cup.
Throughout history, the Chinese flag has only been seen on the grid for three seasons, from 2022 to 2024, when Guanyu Zhou became the first Chinese driver to race in the category. With 68 stages contested, his best result was eighth place, achieved in the stages of Canada (2022) and Qatar (2024).
But it’s not just a question of talent. The Chinese absence on the world circuit reflects the policy defined by the Chinese government, as noted by researcher Simon Chadwick, a specialist in the economic geopolitics of sport. “The engagement of Chinese corporations with sport is not a decision they take unilaterally, everything is dictated by the central government,” the Brit told Sheet.
Founding editor of GeoSport, a digital sports platform created in partnership with the French Institute of International and Strategic Affairs, Chadwick said he does not believe this scenario will change in the near future. “Authorities in Beijing recently released the country’s latest communist five-year plan, in which there is no specific mention of F1, so we should not expect the imminent appearance of a Chinese team in the sport,” he explains.
According to Bloomberg, however, Chinese manufacturer BYD has shown interest in joining the category in recent months. With the increasing importance of the electrical part of hybrid engines in F1 cars, the Chinese giant is considering following the same path taken by General Motors and the Volkswagen group, attracted by the electrification of single-seaters.
BYD could join the competition as a new team, as the American automaker did through the Cadillac brand, or buy a team from the current grid, as the Germans did when transforming Sauber into Audi.
In addition to the strategies defined by the Chinese government, the main obstacle analyzed by the Chinese company is the cost of around US$500 million (R$2.5 billion) per year to maintain a team, not to mention the long negotiations for acceptance by the teams that make up F1.
The entry of a manufacturer from China is welcomed by Mohammed ben Sulayem, president of the FIA (International Automobile Federation). In an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, last year, the manager expressed excitement about the possibility.
“It has been my dream for the last two years for the big countries to have a presence in F1. The United States will be with General Motors [Cadillac]. The next step is to welcome a Chinese manufacturer,” said the FIA president.
China is now the world’s largest automotive market and a global leader in electric vehicles. In 2024, the country accounted for around two-thirds of the sector’s global sales, according to the IEA, the International Energy Agency. Even so, its presence in current F1, with more emphasis on electrification, remains basically indirect, limited to sponsorships and technological partnerships, with the race in Shanghai being its only direct link with the disputes on the tracks.
For Professor Shaowei He, a specialist in the internationalization of Chinese companies at the University of Northampton, in England, the contrast also involves historical and cultural factors. “F1 emerged 76 years ago in the United Kingdom and many families have generations of consistent involvement with the sport, while the culture of motorsport in China has yet to emerge,” he says.
The Chinese relationship with the main category of world motorsport contrasts with that of its main strategic competitor, the United States. The Americans have expanded their presence in F1 in recent years, with three races on the calendar and, above all, with commercial control of the category after the purchase by the Liberty Media group.
The competition with European roots also managed to expand its presence in the American market thanks to the success of the Netflix series Drive to Survive, currently in its eighth season, which shows behind the scenes of the teams and the conflicts between the drivers.
According to He, the distance from the traditional center of the industry also matters. “Even some Chinese auto executives don’t have a basic understanding of the UK’s ‘motorsport valley’,” he says, referring to the engineering hub where several teams in the category are concentrated.
“F1 and motorsport in general are dominated by a Western hegemony. Teams, drivers, engineering expertise, circuit design and governance continue to be dominated by the West, despite the growing influence of Gulf countries. US-China relations, sanctions and socio-cultural barriers to entry serve as barriers for teams from China and Asia,” adds Chadwick.
