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Bernie Ecclestone has backed FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and said a return to a three-litre normally aspirated Formula 1 engine is “the right thing to do.”
Speaking at the Austrian Grand Prix, the former Formula 1 boss tied his support for Ben Sulayem to the direction he wants to see from the FIA next, saying he was “impressed by the job that the current incumbent is doing.” Ecclestone told media including Crash.net: “Well, I'm trying to think of anything he's done wrong,” before adding, “I can't see anything that he's done at the moment that he shouldn't have done.”
The clearest example, in Ecclestone’s view, is engine policy. Asked what he hoped Ben Sulayem would do in future, he told select media including Autosport: “A three-litre engine. I don't care if it's a V8 or a V10 or a V12. I think probably all of you would be happy with that. I think it's the right thing to do.”
That lines up with a wider FIA and Formula 1 push toward bigger, louder and cheaper power units for the next rules cycle, targeted for 2031 but potentially brought forward if manufacturers agree. The concept discussed in the summaries centers on V8 engines paired with a simpler hybrid component.
Ecclestone accepted that manufacturer backing remains the key hurdle. He said Ben Sulayem “would like it if all the teams put their hands up and said it's fantastic, which I'm sure they would do if they weren't controlled by a manufacturer,” but added: “And I think the manufacturers will come on board, because it's obvious.”
He also pointed to the FIA’s finances as evidence that Ben Sulayem is delivering in a difficult role. Ecclestone said the federation “made a loss of €24m in 2021” but has “recently declared a profit of €6.7m for the 2025 financial year.” The FIA has separately described that €6.7 million operating profit as its best financial result in a decade.
Ecclestone said that turnaround matters because the governing body needs resources to function properly. “Financially, he's getting the FIA in a position it should have been before,” he said. “The FIA, there's no reason why if they make money, it’s criminal.”
For Ecclestone, that combination of stronger finances and a willingness to rethink F1’s engine direction is the case for backing Ben Sulayem, with the next power-unit debate now likely to turn on whether manufacturers accept the move toward a simpler three-litre formula.