Other brands, such as BMW, have denied seeking entry into F1, with BMW M’s CEO Frank van Meel stating that F1’s commitment to combustion is at odds with BMW’s electrification goals. Earlier this year, when speaking at the BMW M Fest at Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in South Africa, van Meel said, “We are in a transition to electromobility. Formula 1 is planning to start with a [synthetically-fuelled race car] in ’26. We do not want to wait that long [for green mobility].”
He said that the brand wants to go racing in an electric fashion. “At the end of this decade, we want to find a solution for purely electric racing,” declared van Meel. “So that’s why we said LMDh is the right concept. Because we are starting right now.”