Good news for Verstappen: FIA eyes return of iconic V8 engine

From 2031, there will be room in Formula 1 for a new set of technical regulations. The return of V8 engines is high on the agenda of Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the current FIA president. The engines in the current hybrid era are said to be too expensive and too complicated.

“It is the right thing to do,” Ben Sulayem said about bringing back V8 engines, speaking to, among others, The Race. The arguments are that the premier class can only make itself and its business model more attractive if the engines become cheaper and less complicated.

According to the FIA president, developing an affordable V8 engine would cost about 50% less than developing the current hybrid engines. With the removal of the electrical component, the engines - and therefore the cars - become significantly lighter: "We're targeting 100kg less for the car," he added, in a move that he thinks will also improve safety. "It's not the [F1] business, it's the lives of the drivers that are the most important."

Another idea from the FIA president is to appoint an independent engine manufacturer from whom all F1 teams can purchase an engine. This would reduce the influence and power of engine manufacturers. The downsides of being a customer team would also be reduced. Manufacturers would no longer be able to dictate how customer teams must vote in important meetings.

Ben Sulayem also expects that lowering the cost of producing an engine will bring more engine manufacturers into the sport: "McLaren said they will do it, then you have Alpine, they will do their own engine. It's already two of them saying, well, thank you. Then you will have (new) power unit manufacturers, maybe more than the [current] numbers. That's good," said the FIA president about the return of the V8 engine.

Max Verstappen has welcomed the FIA president’s latest plans. The Red Bull driver has long supported the return of V8 engines and views the proposed direction positively. From next season, the balance between the internal combustion engine and the electric component will begin to shift, before the 60/40 power split is introduced in 2028. Although the four-time world champion would have preferred to see that change implemented a year earlier, he reacted positively to the announced plans.