Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, is committed to replacing the sport’s controversial V6 hybrid engines with simpler, louder V8s by 2030 or 2031.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said he would force the change through by 2031 if needed, but remains optimistic he will gain agreement from power unit manufacturers to make the switch a year earlier.
The plans have received early backing from current championship leaders Mercedes.
“It’s coming. At the end of the day, it’s a matter of time,” Ben Sulayem told Reuters ahead of Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.
“In 2031, the V8, the FIA will have the power to do it, without any votes from the PUMs [Power Unit Manufacturers]. That’s the regulations.
“But we want to bring it one year earlier, which everyone now is asking for.”
F1 cars have been powered by V6 turbo-hybrids since 2014, but this year the sport upped the amount of electrical power on offer to nearly 50% of the peak power output.
The latest generation of hybrid engines have proved controversial, with four-time champion Max Verstappen labelling them “anti-racing” and multiple drivers comparing the battery-boosted racing to Mario Kart.
The need to recharge the battery multiple times on qualifying laps has also proved unpopular, and world champion Lando Norris said changes made ahead of the Miami Grand Prix to address the issue had not gone far enough.
Even before the introduction of the current power units, Ben Sulayem floated the idea of a return to either naturally aspirated V10s or V8s that would be more in line with the high-revving engines of the 2000s.
He has since settled on the idea of V8s, and while he said some hybrid element would remain, he promised the return of better sounding, simpler engines.
“You get the sound, less complexity, lightweight,” Ben Sulayem said of V8s. “You will hear about it very soon and it will be with a very, very minor electrification.
“I’m positive, they [power unit manufacturers] want it to happen. But let’s say the manufacturers don’t approve it [for 2030]. The next year, it will happen. In 2031 its done anyway. It will be done. V8 is coming.”
Ben Sulayem said a change would be possible before 2031 if four of the six power unit manufacturers in F1 [which includes future engine manufacturer Cadillac] agree.
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Toto Wolff, whose Mercedes team has made the strongest start under the latest set of regulations, said he was open to change, but warned F1 might look “ridiculous” if it completely ditches an electrical element heading into the next decade.
“From a Mercedes standpoint, we are open to new engine regulations,” Wolff said after Sunday’s race. “We love V8s, it has only great memories, and from our perspective, it’s a pure Mercedes engine, it revs high.
“But how do we give it enough energy from the battery side to not lose connection to the real world? Because if we swing 100% combustion, it might be looking a bit ridiculous in 2031 or 2030.
“We need to consider that, make it simpler and make it a mega engine. Maybe we can extract 800 horsepower out of the ICE [Internal Combustion Engine] and put 400 on top of it, or more, in terms of electric energy.
“We are absolutely up for it as long as those discussions happen in a structured way, with people’s consideration being taken on board.
“We recognise the financial realities of OEMs [Original Equipment Manufacturers] these days. We don’t have it easy. But if it’s well planned and executed, we Mercedes are happy to come back with a real racing engine.”
