FIA president thinks F1 should consider return to V10 engines on e-fuels

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem thinks Method 1 ought to at the least contemplate switching again to V10 engines sooner or later, working on sustainable gas.

F1 is switching to totally artificial gas from subsequent yr as a part of its change in engine method, which is able to function a near-50/50 break up between output from a V6 inside combustion engine and a extra highly effective MGU-Ok electrical motor, rising the reliance on electrical vitality in comparison with present powertrains.

That transfer geared toward drawing extra producers into the collection, with Audi becoming a member of from 2026 and Cadillac additionally planning to develop in-house energy models from 2028 for its nascent outfit that joins as an eleventh growth crew subsequent yr. After F1’s newest hybrid guidelines have been finalised, Honda additionally made a U-turn on its earlier determination to depart the collection, though F1 is ready to lose Renault as a works producer.

However with F1 now dedicated to utilizing much less polluting artificial fuels as a part of its targets to attain a net-zero carbon footprint by 2030, some wish to see F1 return to screaming V10 engines, which have been final utilized by the whole grid in 2005.

FIA president Ben Sulayem has now additionally urged going again to a V10 on sustainable fuels is one thing that ought to at the least be checked out when the governing physique and its stakeholders outline F1’s future engine method past the one which will probably be launched subsequent yr.

“This week’s F1 launch in London has triggered a whole lot of optimistic dialogue on the way forward for the game,” the governing physique’s president wrote on social media. “Whereas we stay up for the introduction of the 2026 rules on chassis and energy unit, we should additionally prepared the ground on future technological motorsport developments.

“We must always contemplate a variety of instructions together with the roaring sound of the V10 working on sustainable gas. Whichever course is chosen, we should help the groups and producers in guaranteeing price management on R&D expenditure.”

It echoes feedback from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, the place he urged he would additionally wish to discover which options to the present hybrid energy models are viable throughout the trade.

“If sustainable gas is doing the suitable job to be zero emission and we’re taking the purpose of sustainability in the suitable manner – perhaps we do not want anymore to be so difficult or so costly when it comes to engine improvement,” Domenicali advised Autosport final August.

“So we might imagine to return to engines which can be a lot lighter and perhaps with sound.”

Returning to V10s can be a preferred transfer amongst old-school followers who miss the screaming soundtrack of a bygone period, however what’s going to actually matter is whether or not F1’s current and potential producers are onboard, which seems extremely unlikely at this stage. It was in the end an even bigger reliance on the electrical element that made it by way of for 2026.

Whereas there was a giant push behind e-fuels, they continue to be costly and inefficient in comparison with electrical and hybrid fashions, and OEMs concerned in F1 have but to precise any want to maneuver away from a hybrid method.

Paddy Lowe, the founding father of Zero Petroleum – a carbon-neutral artificial gas firm – additionally felt dropping hybrids can be a non-starter within the close to future.

“I’ve seen that concept for a really very long time, really, and there is a component of that [vision] within the formation of our firm Zero,” the former Mercedes and Williams engineer said about a return to V10s on a recent episode of the James Allen on F1 podcast.

“[But] Method 1 is a hybrid method at this time, that’s really an excellent answer for mainstream automotive, I feel.”