Racing
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Pat Symonds wants Formula 1’s post-2030 engine rules to pivot to a naturally aspirated V8 with at least 750bhp, backed by a smaller hybrid system designed for short bursts of attack rather than constant energy management.
In a guest piece for Autosport on what F1’s 2031 power-unit rules should look like, the longtime engineer said the next formula should meet three key tests: cut costs, keep pushing internal-combustion efficiency in a way that still matters to manufacturers without locking out independents, and restore the sense that an F1 engine should feel special. Pat Symonds, former Formula 1 engineer writing in Autosport, said the power unit "must be emotive" so fans leave feeling they have experienced "something special" and "something visceral" that brings them back.
That argument is notable because Symonds also praised the current era’s biggest technical achievement. He described the 2014 regulations as a major step because fuel-flow limits pushed designers toward efficiency, helping thermal efficiency rise from around 30% before 2014 to more than 50%. But he argued that F1 should now accept some of that loss in exchange for a better racing product.
Symonds said he would drop the turbo entirely, even after the gains it delivered. He argued that turbocharging muffles the exhaust note, adds cost and complexity, and increases weight through extra hardware such as intercoolers and wastegates. In his view, that cuts against the drivers’ push for more nimble cars and the broader need for engines that sound and feel more dramatic.
His preferred answer is a high-revving non-turbo V8, with capacity dictated by fuel flow and how lean the engine runs, but with output of at least 750bhp. He said he would "accept the loss of efficiency from dropping the turbo" if that allowed Formula 1 to regain the pure emotion of a normally aspirated engine.
He does not want F1 to abandon hybrid technology, though. Symonds rejected the idea of removing electrification altogether, arguing that it remains part of a modern powertrain. Instead, he proposed what he called a high-power, low-energy system: cut electrical power from roughly 350kW today to around 250kW, and limit deployment to about six to eight seconds per lap. He said that would still be enough to support overtaking while allowing smaller and lighter batteries.
That is the racing logic at the center of the proposal. Rather than using stored electrical energy to improve lap time in general, Symonds wants it used as a tactical weapon for passing, something he said could help overtaking better than DRS ever did. He also suggested capping boost use to about one third of the race distance, with the effect of putting more of the decision-making back in the cockpit.
Symonds said that approach would shift responsibility away from power-unit algorithms and pit wall engineers with access to full data, and back toward drivers making racecraft calls for themselves. He summed up the concept as a "fundamentally new" power-unit format, adding: "Such a solution could reduce costs, maintain efficiency as a key competitive differentiator, improve the racing and above all put the emotion back into F1."