Mohammed ben Sulayem says V8 engines will power F1 cars again, as early as 2030.

The move would put the sport's governing body on a collision course with F1 and the manufacturers, but the FIA president insists that there is nothing they can do about it.

"The most popular and easiest to work with is the V8," he is quoted as saying by RacingNews365. "You get the sound, less complexity, lightweight," he added.

"The V8, you see it with Ferrari, Mercedes, Audi and Cadillac," he continued, referring to their road cars. "You see it with most of the manufacturers, and that gives you a lightweight car."

V8s were last seen in F1 in 2013, having been introduced in 2006 in a bid to curb the spending on V10s, which had been introduced in 1989.

Prior to the introduction of the V10 era, which some claim to have been the sport's last 'golden era' in terms of the power and sound of F1, V8s had been a constant in the sport throughout much of its history, the Cosworth having powered drivers to 176 grand prix wins and countless titles.

This year's move to engines powered equally by an internal combustion engine and electrics has not proved popular with fans or drivers in terms of performance, while the sound of the hybrids, first introduced in 2014, has always been an issue.

"You will hear about it very soon," said Ben Sulayem, "it will be with a very, very minor electrification, but the main one will be the engine. It will not be something like now, which is a 46-54 split. There will be very minimal electric power.

Currently, the manufacturers appear to hold the cards, both F1 and the FIA having been keen to get more of them on board, a move which meant succumbing to their demands that the engines be more road relevant.

However, in 2031 the regulatory framework shifts, giving the FIA complete autonomy.

"It's coming, oh yes, it is coming," said Ben Sulayem. "At the end of the day, it's a matter of time. In 2031, the FIA will have the power to do it, without any votes from the PUMs. That's the regulations.

"But we want to bring it one year earlier, which everyone now is asking for," he added, everyone except GM one presumes, its engine not due to power the Cadillac until 2029. "When you try to tell them they say no, but what will come, will come, and it will come back to the FIA.

"I'm targeting 2030," he insisted. "One year before the maturity of the regulations. It will happen. They want it to happen," he said of the manufacturers. "But let's say the manufacturers don't vote for it, then one more year and it will be done. It's not a matter of, 'do I need their support?' No, it will be done. V8 is coming!"

Time to get the popcorn.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Max Noble, 10/05/2026 3:05

"@Chester it all went wrong when we moved away from the four horse quadriga at the Circus Maximus… ;-)

"

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2. Posted by Chester, 08/05/2026 17:12

"@All, we have to respectably disagree. Hybrid is over-complication and adds weight.

If you really care about the driver's proportion of the equation you employ Occam's Razor thinking and simplify.

Complexity and tech has tilted modern F1 way too much towards the car- and that, to me, taints driver accomplishments since the hybrid was introduced in 2013."

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3. Posted by dejan, 07/05/2026 2:32

"Fully agree @Max Noble - a sensible hybrid would flatten the torque curve and harvest the energy when it's not used by the engine (or regnerate during braking) and allow even faster acceleration and flat-out racing."

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4. Posted by Max Noble, 07/05/2026 1:52

"@Chester - Cheerfully disagree on this one. The Ferrari SF90 is a screaming V8 with a brilliant hybrid arrangement. I think you two would get on. Then a Bugatti Veyron at full speed empties its fuel tank in 12 minutes - knocking it back at the rate of 1.4 US Gallons a minute. At least the Bugatti driver would have the Telsa drivers to chat with while they all waited to be rescued by the Lambos…! :-) All cars run out of fuel at some point. Why even F1 used to have fuel stops!

"

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5. Posted by Chester, 06/05/2026 17:14

"Disagree with some of the closet electric lovers. Power that is consistently available. That is racing. Timing and strategizing over how to deplete a battery is not racing. Period.

I go on high speed runs early Sunday mornings in Texas where we have freedom. My personal best is 170 mph. The Lambo's and other exotics are higher. When Tesla's joined us, their batteries were depleted half-way through. Electric. It peters out. Au revoir electric.

Lets stop the "save the world" baloney. F1 is not even a gnat on the world's energy consumption."

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6. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 06/05/2026 15:45

"@Max Noble - Completely agree with your point, the Ferrari FXX K is another good example of tastefully braiding the ICE with Electric and it sounds "FXX K"ing great.

We've seen first hand how the F1 cartel mentality shoulders up when it comes to MBS strong-arming something, like the eleventh team fiasco. Yes, we the fans, want a twelve team grid and to the articles point we would also welcome back the V8s but I'll play the wait and see game. As its been clearly demonstrated by the FOM for the past decade and a half that what we, the fans, want counts for bugger all. Also pointed out in the comments 2030/31 is a long ways off and the "sport" is hemorrhaging its loyal fan-base in favor of the squirrel fan-base that will inevitably find something new to distract them like some new reality TV fluff or inane fad and will leave nothing but the tumble weeds being charged outlandish prices to blow on by the barren grand stands. Lastly, I find it rather uncomfortable that this guy appears to be extremely confident that he will be around and still in charge of the FIA come 2030/31."

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7. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 06/05/2026 15:20

"How about a mixed format. Let the teams decide how many cylinders they want to use."

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8. Posted by Max Noble, 06/05/2026 0:18

"Two points. First “electrification” is not the enemy. The Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale is a screaming limited edition Ferrari hybrid capable of 0-100 kph in2.3 seconds and a top speed of 340 kph. No one is complaining about “…the bloody battery”. (Note the non-limited edition version is a twin turbo V8 with three electric motors… it is a rocket).

Second Mohammed should read how the FIA faired when it last fell out with the teams and it resulted in the Max and Bernie Circus moving into town.

Either way the only people who benefit from moving our addition from Dino-juice to synthetics are the fuel dealers of today. Just with massively increased profit margins.

Cannot wait to see how this all plays out. Give us electrified V8’s with sensible electrification… they would be roaring rockets!"

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9. Posted by Forbesy, 05/05/2026 20:57

"Why just V8s? Why not do it properly and have screaming 10s and/or 12s?"

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10. Posted by Hobgoblin, 05/05/2026 13:03

""a collision course with F1 and the manufacturers, but the FIA president insists that there is nothing they can do about it"
"That's nice, but we're not playing - Love, the manufacturers..."

Having watched the racing move from pushing to the limits to pushing the gimmicks over the past few years, I really hope this works. If they really go for the synthetic fuels too, then it will remain road relevant as well.
"

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11. Posted by Spindoctor, 05/05/2026 10:56

"Man from nation whose entire economy is fundamentally dependent on the rest of us burning oil wants F1 to revert to V8s.
I'm shocked."

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12. Posted by JamesD, 05/05/2026 9:59

"I'm afraid I gave up on the truth of any of Ben's utterances a long time ago"

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13. Posted by KKK, 05/05/2026 9:50

"Why wait? By then most of the fans will have moved on. If you know there is a problem with electrification, nip it in the bud. Bring ICE power back next year, not 2930"

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V8s are coming back to F1, says Ben Sulayem

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