Coulthard Backs V8 Return and Ditches Hybrids

David Coulthard says Formula 1 should abandon electrification altogether and move to naturally aspirated engines running on biofuels, backing the FIA’s push to bring V8 power back by 2030 or 2031.

The former F1 driver made the case on the Up To Speed podcast as FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem continues to push for a new engine direction beyond the next rules cycle. Ben Sulayem has said a V8 return is inevitable by 2031 and wants it brought forward, insisting: “It’s coming.” He added: “I’m targeting 2030. One year before the maturity [of the regulations]. It will happen.”

Coulthard went further than that timeline debate by arguing that dropping hybrid elements could actually strengthen Formula 1’s sustainability case. He said the series could run a naturally aspirated engine on biofuels with “zero emissions” and “something which is 100% recyclable.” He argued that conventional engine parts can be crushed, melted down and reused, unlike batteries at the end of their life.

That position fits with Ben Sulayem’s broader vision for simpler power units. He has said the next generation would keep only “very, very minor electrification,” with the engine doing the heavy lifting rather than the current “46-54 split.” He also tied that approach to complaints from drivers about battery harvesting and super clipping.

Will Buxton, speaking alongside Coulthard on the same podcast, also backed the proposed shift. Buxton said a return to V8-style engines would restore “something that the fans want, that the drivers want,” and argued the current regulations were always likely to be a short-term step before a bigger reset in 2030 or 2031.

The idea is not without resistance inside the paddock. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told PlanetF1.com and other media that Formula 1 cannot simply walk away from electrification because “that’s the way that the world is moving.” Wolff said the sport must still stay connected to that reality through battery energy, warning that if F1 “swing[s] 100 per cent combustion, we might be looking a bit ridiculous in 2030 or 2031.”

That leaves Formula 1’s next engine debate centered on more than sound or nostalgia. If Ben Sulayem gets the change he wants and Coulthard’s view gains traction, the championship could head toward a V8 future with only a minimal electrical role, setting up a direct fight over what F1 should value most in its next era: relevance to road technology or simpler, biofuel-powered performance.