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<\/p>\nFormula 1 will discard its controversial hybrid V6 power unit and return to using V8 engines by no later than 2031, according to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.<\/p>\n
F1\u2019s brand-new motor, featuring an almost 50-50 split between combustion and electrical power, has proved extremely divisive over the first four races of the season.<\/p>\n
The drivers have criticised the need to alter their approaches to ensure the battery remains topped up rather than pushing flat-out, especially in qualifying, and though overtaking has increased markedly due to the energy-based racing, opinions are split on whether the spectacle has improved, with some welcoming the increase in action but others describing the entertainment as artificial.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship\u2122 LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n Max Verstappen has been a particularly vociferous critic, threatening to quit the sport if changes aren\u2019t made to the engine regulations.<\/p>\n Though some rule tweaks were made during April, consensus among drivers is that the changes don\u2019t go far enough and left many of their core complaints unaddressed. Hopes are now pinned on more significant hardware-side changes in 2027 or 2028, which could be agreed before the next race in Canada on 22\u201324 May.<\/p>\n Ben Sulayem, however, has set his sights on fast-tracking the next generation of engines instead, with a return to V8 engines his preference.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s coming. At the end of the day, it\u2019s a matter of time,\u201d he told Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2031, the V8, the FIA will have the power to do it, without any votes from the PUMs [Power Unit Manufacturers]. That\u2019s the regulations. But we want to bring it one year earlier, which everyone \u2060now is asking for.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mission will be less complication, not like now.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get the sound, less complexity, lightweight. You will hear about it very soon and it will be with a very, very minor electrification.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE <\/p>\n \u2018Oh my god!\u2019: Last-ditch Piastri stunner as title statement sent in Miami chaos<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Definitely\u2019: Piastri reacts to big McLaren shift… and verdict over \u2018crazy\u2019 F1 controversy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018F***\u2019s sake\u2019: Norris left fuming over costly Miami call as \u2018gutted\u2019 star throws team under bus<\/a><\/p>\n Formula 1 last used V8 engines between 2006 and 2013.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n The engine formula is fixed for five seasons, which will see the current hybrid rules expire at the end of 2030. That means the FIA, as the governing body, can decide unilaterally on the regulations for 2031.<\/p>\n New rules can be brought forward to the start of 2030 only with the agreement of four of the six power unit manufacturers: Ferrari, Mercedes, Audi, Honda, Red Bull Powertrains and General Motors.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m positive, they [the manufacturers] want it to happen,\u201d Ben Sulayem said. \u201cBut let\u2019s say the manufacturers don\u2019t approve it [for 2030]. The next year, it will happen. In 2031 it\u2019s done anyway. It will be done. V8 is coming.\u201d<\/p>\n Formula 1 last used V8 engines between 2006 and 2013. It first flirted with hybridisation in 2009 with the introduction of KERS, the kinetic energy recovery system, which regenerated electrical energy from braking to boost power by up to 60 kilowatts.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time that Ben Sulayem has publicly advocated for a return to simpler engines.<\/p>\n The FIA president last year floated the idea of abandoning the 2026 motor in favour of a sudden switch to V10s, though the idea failed to gain traction when it became clear the manufacturers would not agree to writing off the hundreds of millions of dollars already spent on development.<\/p>\n Ben Sulayem\u2019s V8 plan will likely hit the same hurdle for 2030, particularly if hardware-side changes in the coming years resolve some of the core complaints \u2014 for example, if the combustion power can be made relatively more significant than electrical power.<\/p>\n While the 2031 regulations are entirely at the FIA\u2019s discretion, it is unlikely for a new formula to be agreed to if manufacturers signal that they would not compete under proposed rules.<\/p>\n McLaren are back!? 1-2 sprint triumph | 00:46<\/p>\n MOMENTUM BUILDING FOR ENGINE SIMPLIFICATION<\/p>\n That said, momentum appears to be building for a shift away from the heavily hybridised power unit.<\/p>\n Its effect on the spectacle is only one element, though Formula 1 itself is not opposed to the increase in overtaking brought about by the battery-dependent elements of the engine.<\/p>\n Instead the sport is more concerned with financial sustainability and weight.<\/p>\n The first element is economics.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cost of the power unit is too high, that is definite,\u201d F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told <\/a>The Race<\/a>, foreshadowing a move away from hybrid power.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have the duty to make sure that this business is sustainable, we need to have products that are technologically relevant, and therefore the cost of this is too high.\u201d<\/p>\n Power unit manufacturers operate under a US$190 million (A$265 million) cost cap, and for the last three seasons of development they\u2019ve been allowed to spend US$95 million (A$132 million) per year. By the end of 2026 every manufacturer will have spent around $660 million \u2014 and new manufacturers have been allowed to spend more.<\/p>\n The regulation of customer supply costs means selling engines to rival teams generally isn\u2019t a profitable exercise.<\/p>\n Though Formula 1 is in a healthy financial position and all 11 teams are economically stable \u2014 and the manufacturers are all either major auto companies or bankrolled by the multibillion-dollar Red Bull company \u2014 that doesn\u2019t preclude an engine builder effectively burning itself out by spending at these levels without achieving success.<\/p>\n In that circumstance it might be difficult to attract new manufacturers to fill the breach, notwithstanding Audi and General Motors are both new entrants and Honda has been recently coaxed back to the sport.<\/p>\n The second element is the heft of the hybrid motor.<\/p>\n \u201cIf 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.\u201c<\/p>\n The minimum weight of the current engine is a whopping 185 kilograms. That\u2019s up from 145 kilograms for the previous generation of hybrid motors and way up from the relatively petite 95 kilograms of the 2013-spec V8 engines.<\/p>\n The bulked-up power unit has had a commensurate effect on minimum car weight.<\/p>\n In 2013 the minimum weight was 642 kilograms. It peaked last year at 800 kilograms before coming down slightly this year to 768 kilograms.<\/p>\n The laziness of the modern, heavy car has been a constant bugbear for drivers, who prefer the nimbleness of the lighter cars of years past.<\/p>\n \u201cRealistically to make a big difference the number needs to be probably 50-plus, probably closer to 100 [kilograms off], in all honesty,\u201d Oscar Piastri said at the weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cars are still very heavy. I think if we could get it back into a figure starting with six, in the 600s somewhere, that would probably be good.\u201d<\/p>\n Australian Grand Prix pushed back | 00:54<\/p>\n WHY ARE WE HERE?<\/p>\n Formula 1 started down the path of hybridisation with KERS in 2009 but recommitted for the 2014 regulations, which doubled electrical output to 120 kilowatts, roughly 20 per cent of total power in the early years of those rules.<\/p>\n It was the way auto manufacturers were moving at the time, and trends in the consumer vehicle industry is what pushed the sport to double down on electrification when it began formulating its 2026 regulations in 2021\u201322.<\/p>\n Its intention was to attract new manufacturers to the sport. Though it required further compromises \u2014 in particular removing the MGU-H, the motor generator unit that turned heat into electrical energy \u2014 Audi signed on, and eventually Honda decided to return to the sport. General Motors committed later in the piece too.<\/p>\n But the consumer environment has changed since then, said Domenicali.<\/p>\n \u201cThe process will maybe be different, with the FIA presenting a proposition knowing \u2026 the situation of the [manufacturers] involved in the sport [and] that will consider the situation today is different from five years ago,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that the manufacturers will not anymore be in a position to say that\u2019s the only way to go. That\u2019s the main different topic if you compare it to five years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty clear that the attention on full-electric in the automotive industry has gone out.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in a situation that we are less in a corner, where five years ago we were. That\u2019s why there could be more possibilities to have different options that the FIA can present to the manufacturers, in agreement with us and in agreement with what is the best for F1.\u201d<\/p>\n But Formula 1 has also changed.<\/p>\n Whereas previously it needed manufacturers for relevance, the sport is now so culturally significant in its own right that auto brands want to be involved simply for the exposure.<\/p>\n It could justifiably argue that it has the right to set its own course and compel interested brands to follow.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could be in a good spot to redefine the weight of the cars. That is a very important point that with the batteries, unfortunately, has gone in a certain direction,\u201d Domenicali continued.<\/p>\n \u201cTherefore I believe that the FIA will be ready to discuss that, keeping the sustainable fuel once again at the centre of the technical equation, and trying to find a different balance between the hybridisation versus the internal combustion engines. That\u2019s what I think will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n There is one further interesting question to consider, however.<\/p>\n By the time we get to the end of 2030, Formula 1 will have used hybrid engines for 17 years. A not insignificant percentage of its fan base will not have even been born the last time naturally aspirated engines reigned.<\/p>\n The sport has experienced a massive boost popularity in that time, particularly in the last five years, including among new demographics. Families, for example, are increasingly catered to by grand prix events.<\/p>\n Will this new and increasingly significant subgroup of the fan base tolerate a return to an era of raucous, screaming engines after almost two decades of the relative civility of turbo-hybrid motors?<\/p>\n As much as many long-term, hardcore F1 fans would warmly welcome the return of V8s, has the character of Formula 1 fundamentally changed since they were last in action?<\/p>\n The sport would being doing itself a disservice to not consider this question in formulating its new regulations before it commits to going back to the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Formula 1 will discard its controversial hybrid V6 power unit and return to using V8 engines by no…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648445,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[40625,4587,241066,241070,241073,241077,49,48,241074,147798,241069,241078,241075,241081,63172,186351,241064,241072,41833,40618,241080,578,34537,6388,576,577,49600,3758,41812,198020,241084,241085,241083,25251,241065,591,241063,241082,1885,182360,241071,186538,241076,1671,5185,241067,128059,184838,168330,241079,41834,232789,239505,82,184810,181,241068],"class_list":["post-648444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-agence-france-presse","tag-america","tag-auto-brands","tag-auto-companies","tag-battery-dependent-elements","tag-bulked-up-power-unit","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-combustion-engines","tag-combustion-power","tag-consumer-environment","tag-consumer-vehicle-industry","tag-core-complaints","tag-customer-supply-costs","tag-electrical-energy","tag-electrical-power","tag-energy-recovery-system","tag-engine-builder","tag-engine-formula","tag-engine-regulations","tag-engine-simplification","tag-f1","tag-fan-base","tag-florida","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-general-motors-company","tag-grand-prix","tag-grand-prix-events","tag-hybrid-engines","tag-hybrid-rules","tag-italian-driver","tag-italian-wonderkid","tag-kimi-antonelli","tag-kinetic-energy-recovery","tag-lando-norris","tag-leading-home-team-mate","tag-massive-boost-popularity","tag-max-verstappen","tag-miami-gardens","tag-minimum-car-weight","tag-minimum-weight","tag-motor-generator-unit","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-number-needs","tag-power-unit","tag-power-unit-manufacturers","tag-power-units","tag-proposition-knowing","tag-qualifying-session","tag-race-victory","tag-rule-tweaks","tag-sports","tag-turbo-hybrid-power-units","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-way-auto-manufacturers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}