Racing
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Mohammed Ben Sulayem says Formula 1’s return to V8 engines from 2030 or 2031 is effectively decided, but the FIA president’s push for a lighter, simpler and much cheaper hybrid formula still leaves the sport facing a fight over what that engine will actually be.
Speaking during the Le Mans 24 Hours weekend, Ben Sulayem said the new power unit is planned for 2031, with the FIA trying to bring it forward by a year. His proposal is a V8 running on sustainable fuel with only limited hybridization, built around lower cost and lower weight than the current engine package.
“Il V8 è ormai deciso, la decisione è presa. La sua introduzione è prevista per il 2031, ma stiamo spingendo per il 2030. Ci sarà un ibrido, ma sarà leggero e semplice: lotto contro la complessità,” Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA president, said in quotes reported by AUTOHebdo.
Ben Sulayem has framed the change in hard numbers. He said the target is to cut engine costs from about €1.5 million to roughly €700,000, while also reducing future F1 car weight to between 630 kg and 650 kg. He has also argued that the current development path has become too expensive, citing engine research and development spending of more than €200 million and pointing to Red Bull-Ford or Red Bull Powertrains investment of more than €1 billion to €1.3 billion as proof that the present model has gone too far.
That is the easy part of the argument. The harder part is that broad support in principle does not mean the final concept is settled. The summaries describe agreement on the idea of a V8 and on shifting the balance back toward the combustion engine, but key details remain open: power output, the level of hybridization, engine displacement, and the central question of whether the package should be naturally aspirated or turbocharged.
That leaves plenty of room for the kind of drawn-out political and technical negotiation that often defines major F1 rule changes. Even where consensus appears close, the risk remains that manufacturers and regulators reopen points that seemed settled once the discussion turns from philosophy to exact specifications.
The clearest fault line is over turbo technology. Ben Sulayem has argued for simplicity and has pushed the idea of dropping the turbo to save weight, cost and complexity. Audi is on the other side of that debate. Audi CEO Gernot Döllner said turbocharging remains essential for efficiency and fits the company’s wider strategy, with one summary describing the manufacturer as effectively demanding turbo technology and even looking to bi-turbo solutions already developed for future road models.
Other manufacturers appear less rigid, but not fully aligned either. One summary says Mercedes is on board with a V8 and would not object to keeping a turbo, while Ford and Cadillac may be more open to a naturally aspirated route. That mix of positions matters because the FIA may want the new engine in 2030, but getting there depends on more than declaring the V8 comeback “confirmed.”
For Formula 1, the real significance is that the FIA is trying to reverse the direction of the current hybrid era before the next cycle has fully played out. Ben Sulayem’s campaign is not only about engine sound or nostalgia. It is a bid to reset the sport around simpler technology, lower spending and lighter cars, and whether that happens in 2030 or 2031 will depend on how quickly F1 can turn a loose agreement on V8 philosophy into a set of rules the manufacturers can all live with.