F1 Considers Return to V10 Engines

The FIA and Formula 1's engine manufacturers have concluded a meeting over a potential switch back to V10 engines, although no serious decisions on the future have been made.

Friday's meeting took place following the FIA's confirmation it is assessing a return to V10 engines as early as 2028 or 2029 on the behest of governing body president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Formula 1 has operated V6 turbo hybrids since 2014 but next year will start a rules cycle with a new set of V6s.

Concerns over that cycle of rules have been growing for a multitude of reasons, including costs, performance and quality of racing.

Ben Sulayem, F1 boss Stefano Domenicali and representatives from F1's current and future manufacturers met, with several figures joining via video call.

The meeting was never meant to be rule-setting but instead was aimed at canvassing opinions, both on the principle of the V10s and the idea of cycling quickly through the next set of regulations to get there.

Sources have told ESPN there is unanimous agreement that scrapping the V6s before the end of the decade is unrealistic, but the idea of a return to V10s is gaining support.

It is understood cost-saving options for the incoming engine cycle were also discussed at length.

Teams and manufacturers are growing concerned at advantages and disadvantages being locked in from 2026 onwards, as they were to a large degree in 2014 when F1 switched to the V6 turbo hybrids.

As well as existing manufacturer heads like Mercedes chairman Ola Kaellenius, also in attendance were Audi CEO Gernot Doellner and General Motors president Mark Reuss.

Audi committed to joining F1 in 2026, when the company completes its takeover of the Sauber team, because of the new set of rules coming into force.

GM brand Cadillac will join the grid next year as its 11th team, initially with a supply of Ferrari engines, although General Motors has committed to building American-made engines for the team by the end of the decade. The American company would likely prefer a speedy decision on the length of the current engine cycle.

Ford's global director of performance Mark Rushbrook also attended, as part of the American company's involvement in Red Bull's new engine programme.

Red Bull has raised concerns over the spiralling costs associated with the new engine formula. The Milton Keynes based team has built an entire engine facility at its UK headquarters.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who has previously expressed support for the return of V10s told Sky Sports on Friday: "We are building an infrastructure on the current set of regulations, so whatever the future regulations are, it needs to take into account the future resource teams have. We have structured our business around the current set of regulations."

The romanticist in me is a screaming V10 could be really attractive for F1 but it's got to be done responsibly."

With electrification as well, is it a V10 or V8? That was really the discussion this morning, what the future potentially looks like."

Sources told ESPN some teams are more open to the idea due to trends in the automotive industry, which are shifting towards sustainable fuels rather than electrification.

There are also concerns in some quarters about the cost of existing V6 engines. The 2026 rule change removed a lot of the expensive and complicated aspects of the current generation of V6s, but manufacturers are still concerned at the expense.

Advocates of the move away from the next set of engines say a V10 running on sustainable fuel would be significantly cheaper to produce.