'Not the best project' LKY SUNZ wants to enter F1: 'We bring diversity'

An interview? Within an hour of submitting a request, there was already a response: CEO Benjamin Durand was available the same day.'What time would be most convenient?' In Formula 1, getting a 1-on-1 interview is usually not that easy, but in the case of the LKY SUNZ boss, the quick, positive answer is understandable. A charm offensive through the media may be the last straw to make the ambitious F1 project a reality after all.

Indeed, rumours are getting louder that the FIA has now informed Durand that an entry into Formula 1 is out of the question. When asked, the Frenchman says he cannot say anything about this. According to reports, Durand and cohorts are pinning their hopes on a last-ditch attempt at the FIA to obtain the necessary F1 licence. That LKY SUNZ means business should be evident from the news that a billion euros has now been raised to pay a possible entry fee to Formula 1.

Developing motorsport in emerging countries

It is now well known that the FIA is keen to see the F1 grid expanded, yet the current 10 teams are by no means eager. Andretti-Cadillac - on paper have the strongest bid - can already count on little enthusiasm, let alone LKY SUNZ. "We are not the best project in all categories, that's for sure," Durand said in a conversation with GPblog. "But I think we are doing a good project. We are bringing something different. We are bringing diversity. We are planning to help the FIA to develop motorsport in countries and communities where they are not present."

Durand admits that the LKY SUNZ project cannot currently tick all the necessary boxes. "It's up to the FIA. We hope they can see that our weakness can be reinforced in the future. Whatever our weakness is, this is something that we can correct and work on to be ready by 2026."

The Frenchman is referring to giving people from Africa and Asia the chance to make it to Formula 1; mechanics, staff and certainly drivers. "It is a very English, European-oriented product right now. It needs to change. We are not positioning ourselves as the enemy. We are not the enemy that comes to F1 and says, OK, we are going to take your money. We are not here to destroy the championship. That's no sense to us, to arrive and destroy it. Our goal is to help you," says Durand therefore. "If you look at it, we can help you, and we can make this championship even stronger because we will attract and develop markets that are not developed by F1 teams."

LKY SUNZ has a backlog

The CEO of LKY SUNZ admits that his team has a backlog compared to Andretti-Cadillac, for example: there is no engine partner, and high-quality technicians are also lacking. "Yes, we need to have a certain standard. We need to make sure that we comply with the level of what is Formula 1. We have the capacity to do that."

"Obviously, it's more complicated to put a team in Asia than put it in Europe. That's why we are also working with European structures to help us while we are in Asia to make sure that we are competing at the right level and designing a competitive car in the early years when our infrastructure and equipment will be going on in Asia. We think within a reasonable time frame, we can have a full operation in Asia and compete. There are talents in Asia and in Africa. They just need to get access to F1 and get the right teaching and the right training to be F1 personnel. It takes time."

On the F1 grid in just over two years?

Yet in 2026, LKY SUNZ wants to compete in their first Grand Prix already, while there is still so much work to do. "We know it's a long process. This is also what we have demonstrated. We are building the team for the long run. That means that we are building relationships with universities in the United States and Africa to develop motorsport curricula to find those young talents, to train them, to bring them to the level where they can be in Formula 1. If we do that, I think other teams will do the same. Someone needs to be the first one to pave the way. We said that we are going to pave the way."

A primary concern among current Formula 1 teams is whether any newcomers can play a significant role sportingly. Teams that are four, five seconds slower than the rest of the field every race is an absolute horror from their point of view. "We are going to lose a little bit of performance doing it because, obviously, you have more performance if you are in Europe than if you are in Asia at the beginning. Long term, it's not going to be the same. As long as we are competitive enough to be in the group and not to be five seconds behind, to be able to score points whenever we can."

"We don't intend to arrive and say, we are going to finish third in the championship or win it. This is completely stupid. Our goal is to develop this diversity side, this infrastructure side, to bring this to Formula 1 and help Formula 1 develop and grow. Also, learn and grow in the meantime. It's a complicated thing because we need to be competitive enough to be at the level of Formula 1 while trying to do something that has never been done before," Durand believes, however.