Racing
© Adriaan Greyling
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says the series is no longer locked into the thinking that shaped its next-generation power units, opening the way for a cheaper, lighter future engine formula that could even bring V8s or V10s back on sustainable fuel.
Speaking to The Race F1 Podcast, Domenicali said F1 and its manufacturers are now “less in a corner” than they were when the current rules direction was set. He said the planned 50/50 split between electrical power and V6 combustion power reflected a period when carmakers were pushing heavily toward all-electric road-car strategies, but that the industry has since changed.
“I believe that the manufacturers will not anymore be in a position to say that's the only way to go,” Domenicali said. “That's the main different topic if you compare it to five years ago.” He added that “we are in a situation that we are less in a corner, where five years ago we were,” which should give the FIA more freedom to present different options in agreement with F1 and what is best for the sport.
That matters because Domenicali made clear he does not see a long-term case for simply continuing with the current power-unit philosophy. He said the biggest issue is cost. “The cost of the power unit is too high, that is definite,” he said, arguing that F1 has a duty to keep the business sustainable while maintaining technological relevance.
Weight is the other major factor in his thinking. Domenicali said any serious opportunity to reduce car weight has to be examined, especially if it depends on reducing the size and mass of the battery. “If there is a new opportunity to have weight reduced, and the only way to reduce it is to reduce the dimension and the weight of the battery, it has to be considered for F1,” he said.
That shift in emphasis is what has opened the door to concepts that would have been much harder to argue for a few years ago. Domenicali said electrification still matters to manufacturers, but the automotive industry is no longer focused so narrowly on full-electric solutions. With F1 moving to 100% sustainable fuel from 2026, he suggested the next step could be a different balance between hybrid systems and internal combustion, including the possibility of V8 or V10 engines with some hybrid element.
“It’s pretty clear that the attention on full-electric in the automotive industry has gone out,” Domenicali said. He argued that F1’s early move toward hybrid power and sustainable fuel now puts it in a strong position to reshape the formula again, with sustainable fuel “once again at the centre of the technical equation” and “a different balance between the hybridisation versus the internal combustion engines.”
The timing is still open. Domenicali said the next full power-unit cycle is currently targeted for 2031, after five years under the incoming rules set, but he stressed that “that timeline isn’t set in stone.” He said the rule-making process will begin this year and that the FIA will lead it.
“What is clear is that the regulator is the FIA, so the FIA has the responsibility to propose a package,” Domenicali said. He added that even if there is interest in moving earlier than 2031, design and development lead times will limit how quickly a new concept can be introduced.
His comments also reflect how much the manufacturer landscape has changed since the current rules were framed. The 2026 formula was designed to attract and retain major manufacturers, and it succeeded in doing so with Audi joining, Ford partnering with Red Bull Powertrains, Honda returning as a works supplier with Aston Martin, and General Motors developing its own power unit for Cadillac from 2029.
Domenicali said that fast-changing “ecosystem” now gives F1 more room to rethink what comes next. Instead of being forced down one technical path by road-car trends, the championship can start shaping a formula aimed more directly at lower cost, lower weight and a better long-term balance between hybrid power and combustion.