Toto Wolff admits he would love to see the return of V8s to F1, but warns that the sport must not abandon the electrical side of the power units.

The Austrian's comments follow FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem's claim that not only will V8s return to the sport, and as early as 2030, but that there is nothing either F1 or the manufacturers can do about it as by then the sport's governing body will have total autonomy.

"From a Mercedes standpoint, we are open to new engine regulations," said Wolff. "We love V8s, it has only great memories, and from our perspective, it's a pure Mercedes engine, it revs high.

"But how do we give it enough energy from the battery side to not lose connection to the real world?" he added. "Because if we swing 100% combustion, it might be looking a bit ridiculous in 2031 or 2030.

"We need to consider that," he warned, "make it simpler and make it a mega engine. Maybe we can extract 800 horsepower out of the ICE and put 400 on top of it, or more, in terms of electric energy. We are absolutely up for it as long as those discussions happen in a structured way, with people's consideration being taken on board.

"We recognise the financial realities of OEMs these days. We don't have it easy. But if it's well planned and executed, we Mercedes are happy to come back with a real racing engine."

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Pawsche, 07/05/2026 19:34

""But how do we give it enough energy from the battery side to not lose connection to the real world?"

Since when has F1 had anything to do with the "real world"??"

Rating: Negative (-1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 07/05/2026 14:29

"The millions wasted in F1 and the 65 billion by the car industry in there drive to electrification only for our beloved sport to be seemingly going full circle back to 1967 when the venerable Cosworth V8 made its debut, the saying "do not fix it if its not broke" never seemed so more apt. "

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 06/05/2026 16:08

""...we Mercedes are happy to come back with a real racing engine." Is this an accidental admission from one of the sports biggest promoters of Liberty's company message that they are, indeed, fully aware internally that the current PUs in F1 are anything but?"

Rating: Positive (8) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Mercedes backs V8 return

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page