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

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem thinks System 1 ought to at the least think about 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 system, which can characteristic a near-50/50 cut 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 sequence, 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 enlargement staff subsequent yr. After F1’s newest hybrid guidelines had been finalised, Honda additionally made a U-turn on its earlier resolution to depart the sequence, though F1 is about 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 realize a net-zero carbon footprint by 2030, some wish to see F1 return to screaming V10 engines, which had been final utilized by your complete grid in 2005.

FIA president Ben Sulayem has now additionally recommended 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 system past the one which will probably be launched subsequent yr.

“This week’s F1 launch in London has triggered numerous constructive dialogue on the way forward for the game,” the governing physique’s president wrote on social media. “Whereas we look ahead to the introduction of the 2026 laws on chassis and energy unit, we should additionally prepared the ground on future technological motorsport tendencies.

“We should always think about a spread of instructions together with the roaring sound of the V10 working on sustainable gas. Whichever path is chosen, we should help the groups and producers in guaranteeing value management on R&D expenditure.”

It echoes feedback from F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, the place he recommended he would additionally wish to discover which alternate options to the present hybrid energy models are viable inside the business.

“If sustainable gas is doing the appropriate job to be zero emission and we’re taking the purpose of sustainability in the appropriate approach – possibly we do not want anymore to be so sophisticated or so costly by way of engine improvement,” Domenicali advised Autosport final August.

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

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

Whereas there was an enormous 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 system.

Paddy Lowe, the founding father of Zero Petroleum – a carbon-neutral artificial gas firm – additionally felt dropping hybrids could 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] System 1 is a hybrid system at present, that’s really an excellent answer for mainstream automotive, I feel.”