Brown weighs up McLaren producing own F1 engine amid possible V8 return

Upon F1's return from hiatus in Miami, and ongoing criticism towards the sport's current regulations splitting internal combustion and electrical power by 50:50, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem raised eyebrows when he suggested the "V8 is coming" possibly as early as 2030 and even without the full approval of F1's power unit manufacturers.

Other high-profile figures in F1 have since come out in support of a V8 comeback. On that same Miami weekend, Mercedes boss told media, including GPblog, to "count us in" for a return to "real racing engines," while Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, as well as engine supplier Ford, have also backed the idea.

Most recently, at the Canadian GP, F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali has thrown his support behind the V8 proposal, telling L'Equipe he is "1000 percent in favour of the V8," before describing lighter cars and simpler engines as "the pure essence of motor racing".

McLaren's Brown is the latest to have his say on a possible engine change, responding to additional comments made by Ben Sulayem in Miami that claimed the papaya team could even begin producing their own power units upon a switch to V8s.

As per Sports Business Journal, the FIA President said: “I believe when we will introduce it, I feel even McLaren will do their engine. They wouldn’t be going to others. Because now they are now going to others to do it is because it is a complicated unit. They said, ‘We better go and buy what is available than go and introduce a new engine.’”

Speaking to the same publication at last weekend's Indy 500 race, where Brown was supporting the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team, the American boss did not rule out such a possibility. Brown said: "If you got an engine formula that was financially viable then, yeah, we would consider it and the technology."

However, the 54-year-old again emphasised that any McLaren move to produce their own engines would have to make financial sense. Brown said the team are currently happy with their current power unit suppliers Mercedes, whose engines they have used since 2021, while their agreement runs until at least the end of the 2030 season.

Having won the last two Constructors' and the 2025 Drivers' title with Mercedes power, Brown added: “That being said, we couldn’t be happier with Mercedes [High Performance Powertrains], so yeah, if something is presented to us that first financially makes sense, then we’ll have a look at it.”

in the shorter term, Brown also told SBJ that he has no worries that the current 2026 regulations will hinder F1's popularity. The FIA introduced a series of tweaks to the rules for the Miami GP, and have proposed further changes to change the aforementioned 50:50 power split to 60:40 in favour of internal combustion in 2027.

Brown said: "No, because - so the racing is great, like if you didn’t hear the drivers and were just watching on TV, the TV product is great,“ Brown said. “There’s passing, five different leaders in Miami, passes for the lead, so I think the fans watching the race are going, ’That’s a damn exciting race.’

While Brown admits it will be difficult to get the 2026 cycle of regulations to a "perfect place," he believes energy management is just another challenge that drivers will be able to get on top of, and that everything in F1 "has a magnifying glass of 1,000 on it."