Caterham revival part of bid to be 12th team in Formula 1

The move comes as the series prepares to welcome General Motors-backed Cadillac in 2026, expanding the grid to eleven teams for the first time in a decade. A twelfth entrant could follow a year later, subject to FIA and Liberty Media approval.

Kassis-Mohamed, a board director of SKM Capital, confirmed the group’s intention to secure an entry ahead of 2027. The project, to be branded SKM Racing under a Caterham licence, will be based at Silverstone with a race operations centre in Munich.

“F1 now operates with clearer financial guardrails and stable technical frameworks, making the category investable. We like the intersection of elite engineering, a global platform, and predictable cost governance,” Kassis-Mohamed told Sportstar.

Caterham previously raced in Formula 1 between 2012 and 2014, but failed to score a point. An 11th-place finish for Vitaly Petrov in Brazil in 2012 was the team’s best result.

After entering administration in late 2014, the team returned for one final outing in Abu Dhabi via crowdfunding before folding permanently the same year. Its assets were later sold at auction in 2015.

Kassis-Mohamed (pictured below) explained the decision to revive the brand name rather than create a fresh entry: “Caterham has strong recall and no current grid presence. A brand licence shortens the marketing ramp without reviving the defunct corporate entity or its liabilities.”

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, whose organisation govern the sport, is open to the idea with conditions: “If there is a team from China, let’s say, and FOM approved it, and I am 100 per cent sure they will approve it, wouldn’t it make more money with China coming in? I believe, yes. Do we have to fill up [the grid] with a 12th team for the sake of filling up [the grid] with a 12th team? No. It will be the right team.”

The FIA has yet to reopen its Expressions of Interest process since the last round in early 2023, meaning Caterham’s return is not guaranteed. The Cadillac entry itself required lengthy negotiations, with Liberty Media only approving the project once General Motors formally came on board as an OEM partner.

Despite his outfit not being a "Chinese team" and without manufacturer support, Kassis-Mohamed confirmed SKM will apply as a customer team: “We respect the thresholds set by FIA/F1. Our plan involves two options: a change of control transaction in an existing entrant or applying in the next FIA process as a compact, well-funded customer team with long-term PU supply.”

The Kuwaiti investor is confident the framework for a Caterham comeback can be in place by the end of 2025, ahead of focusing on chassis systems and race operations the following year. However, the ultimate timeline will be determined by regulatory and commercial approvals.

If successful, Caterham’s return, or any other additional team, would mark Formula 1’s first 12-team grid since 2016, adding another chapter to the sport’s expansion era.

History shows that Caterham F1 entered Formula 1 in 2010 under the name Lotus Racing after Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes secured one of the FIA’s new low-cost slots.

Despite no links to the historic Lotus marque, the team raced under the name until legal disputes with Proton, owner of Lotus Cars, forced a rebrand first to Team Lotus and later, in 2012, to Caterham F1 Team after Fernandes bought the British car manufacturer Caterham.

Powered by Renault engines and with drivers Heikki Kovalainen, Jarno Trulli and later Vitaly Petrov, Caterham consistently battled at the back of the grid with fellow newcomers HRT and Marussia. Across five seasons, the team failed to score a single championship point. Their best finish came in Brazil in 2012, when Petrov placed 11th.

In 2013, Charles Pic and rookie Guido van der Garde replaced Kovalainen and Petrov, but Caterham slipped behind Marussia, who secured 10th place in the Constructors’ standings thanks to Jules Bianchi’s result in Malaysia. Fernandes set 2014 as a make-or-break year, but the team again struggled. After 56 GPs, they closed up shop

Sold mid-season to a Swiss-Middle Eastern consortium, Caterham soon entered administration, missing two races. A crowdfunding campaign allowed a final appearance in Abu Dhabi, before assets were auctioned off in 2015, ending the team’s short-lived F1 story.