BYD Executive Meets Former F1 Red Bull Team Principal Horner to Discuss Team Formation

According to reports from PlanetF1 and other media, during the 'BYD Night' event held in Cannes last weekend, Stella Li, Executive Vice President of BYD Group, held multiple meetings over two days with Christian Horner, former team principal and CEO of the Red Bull F1 team.

Horner also met with Wang Chuanfu, founder, chairman, and CEO of BYD.

Above: Stella Li (left) and Christian Horner (right)

During the recent 2026 Beijing Auto Show, Li revealed that BYD is discussing entering F1 and has already met with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali in Shanghai. (Related reading: BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li Confirms: Will Enter F1!)

Earlier, there were rumors that BYD had participated in the bidding for a 24% stake in the Alpine F1 team, currently held by private equity firm Otro Capital. Horner himself and the Mercedes-AMG team also participated in the bidding for this stake. (Related reading: F1 Chinese Grand Prix Champion Team Mercedes-AMG Interested in Acquiring Alpine Team Stake)

The latest reports indicate that BYD's current focus is not on acquiring a minority stake in the Alpine F1 team, but on forming a team to join F1 as a new entrant.

During the talks with Horner, Li was "very excited" about exploring the possibility of entering Formula 1.

Horner is one of the most successful team principals in F1 history. He took over the Red Bull F1 team in 2005, and under his leadership, the team won 6 Constructors' Championships and 8 Drivers' Championships (Sebastian Vettel 4, Max Verstappen 4). He stepped down as team principal in July 2025.

| Source: planetf1, sky sports

| Image credit: planetf1