Hitech Grand Prix has confirmed that it has submitted an application to the FIA to join the Formula 1 grid in 2026.
Earlier this year, the FIA formally opened the application process for potential new squads to join from as early as 2025.
The deadline for interested parties was April 30, with the FIA set to make final decisions on applicants by the end of June.
Hitech, which has a successful set-up in the junior categories, confirmed on Monday that it has submitted a bid to establish its own squad.
The confirmation comes amid the sale of a 25 per cent interest in the group to Kazakh businessman and motorsport enthusiast Vladimir Kim.
“Motorsport has been a long-standing personal interest for me, and I am delighted to be entering into a partnership with an organisation that has enjoyed success in so many categories and has such ambitions for its future,” said Kim.
“We have an established involvement with sport; however, this is our first global investment in motorsport.
“Its dynamic appeal, growing exposure, business-to-business marketing opportunities and burgeoning fan base are aligned with my ambitions personally and commercially.”
Hitech GP was founded by Oliver Oakes and currently has six race teams competing at varying levels of the single-seater racing ladder spanning from Formula 2 to Formula 4.
The Silverstone-based squad is one of several parties that is interested in forming its own F1 outfit for 2026, when a new cycle of regulations will come into play.
Andretti Global has long voiced its desire to race in F1 and is also pushing to field a team in three years’ time.
Hitech says that being accepted into F1 “would complete its single-seater ladder and demonstrate that Hitech has all the right people, experience and resources to compete alongside the best teams in the world”.
Any new F1 team that is accepted through the application process will also be eligible to join the grid at the start of 2027.