Both Ford and GM have given their support to Mohammed ben Sulayem's proposal to revert F1 to V8 engines.

"It's great to see the FIA and Formula 1 already talking about what is the next set of regulations," said Ford Racing boss, Mark Rushbrook. "We are a stakeholder in the sport and we'll share our point of view," he added. "But certainly, as a company that makes a lot of naturally aspirated V8s, we would love to see a V8 here."

His sentiments were echoed by GM's president, Mark Reuss, who said: "I love V8s and the way they sound. But we're very respectful, as one of the newer teams, of the investment that was made in the V6 hybrids. So if Formula 1 and FIA and the teams say that we're going to (return), we'll be ready."

However, that's for 2031, possibly 2030 is Ben Sulayem gets his way and the FIA has complete autonomy, however, in the meantime there is the little matter of the further refinements to the current engine regulations announced last week and which could cause their own set of problems.

The increased fuel flow is likely going to mean bigger fuel tanks and changes to the chassis deign, a move which would rule out plans by some teams to carry their 2026 chassis over to 2027 in a bid to keep within the cost cap.

It is understood that a number of proposals have been put forward including concessions to the cost cap regulations, differing fuel flow settings between qualifying and races or even shortening the length of races, a move which would further horrify purists but no doubt delight the likes of Stefano Domenicali and many of the attention span limited fans the sport is now attracting.

As for the partnership with Red Bull, Rushbrook remains confident, despite the best result thus far being Max Verstappen's fifth in Miami.

"That's what everyone wants, to be able to win races and championships," he said. "We know it's going to take a lot of work to get there. That's part of why we partnered with Red Bull. They are racers, they're committed to winning.

"Last year, what they showed, they were in a deficit, and they clawed back within two points of getting the championship for Max. We know it's the right partner. We're fully committed for all of our resources going to help that program."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Abies, 12/05/2026 12:19

"V10's will be much better. The FIA always do things half-assed."

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2. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 12/05/2026 10:39

"Unfortunately this sensible move will come to late for a notable few on the grid including Alonso and Hamilton."

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3. Posted by BillH, 11/05/2026 18:44

"Now all we need is that partner of Haas (Toyota) to chip in with a V8 and we'll have some synergy with Aussie Supercars.
Even McLaren could be tempted to look into doing a Red Bull as McLaren Automotive have V8 experience that could cross over to the F1 team.
Ironically, with this push for "road relevance", F1 will probably be closer to that in 2030 than they are now, engine wise at least.
And, we'll get to call these things engines rather than power units.
I've never heard anyone refer to their road car as having a power unit."

Ford and GM back V8 move

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