Is F1 turning towards V8 engines?
The big bosses have now revealed their cards: the medium-term future of F1 will be with V8 engines, lighter, simpler, (a bit) less powerful but also (much) less expensive and therefore obviously more attractive for a car industry that has increasing doubts about electric. This was said by the president of the FIA Mohammed Ben Sulayem – who currently only has doubts about the introduction date of the new regulations, which could debut at the latest in 2031 – and was also confirmed by the big boss of the GP paddock, Stefano Domenicali, who believes that returning to V8s would be going “back to the true essence of motor racing”. A reversal on electrification (at least the “heavy” kind since the engines would still be hybrid, albeit much less complex than now) which paradoxically also makes happy those who make a living from electrification.
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The satisfaction of Formula E
This is the case of the CEO of Formula E, Jeff Dodds, who, speaking to the Spanish online newspaper Soy Motor, explained how a possible F1 backtrack on electric with the return to the “old” V8s is good news for the fully electric single-seater series. This obviously means having less competition not only in sporting terms but also in terms of engineering innovation, with Formula E returning to its role, at this point exclusive (or almost), as a technological laboratory for that part of the automotive industry that continues to believe in zero-emission mobility.
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Jeff Dodds speaks
“The only thing I feel like saying – explains Dodds – is that the fact that F1 is thinking about V8s is a positive change for us. Their championship has combustion engines and we are an electric championship… It’s very easy to understand. But 2030 or 2031 are still very far away. If you are an F1 driver and you can’t wait to go back to V8s, you will have to be patient for the next three or four years, because that’s how long it will take to get back to that point. So it will still seem like a very long time.”
However, Dodds did not fail to compliment his F1 colleagues for managing the transition to the heavy hybrid of 2026, noting a certain ability to adapt and to change things after the first unsatisfactory races for fans and drivers: “We have to give them credit for listening and understanding that things are not going as planned, so they are making changes. It is right to recognize these merits to those companies that have the ability to respond to feedback and react by facing the challenges that arise. I think it was not a surprise, or it shouldn’t have been, that it would be difficult, but maybe it didn’t go exactly as they expected. But many of us had predicted that this could happen.”
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