FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem is pushing ahead with his plan to reintroduce V8 engines to F1, and has called a meeting with teams to discuss the move.

Sadly, it won't be the V8s as fans of a certain vintage will remember them, but a new sustainable version.

A meeting was held over the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend at which the move was discussed, but his proposal was rejected. Now a second meeting is planned in the days following this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

Ignoring the fact that even if given the green light the switch probably wouldn't happen until 2030 at the earliest, the discussion comes months ahead of the overhaul to the engine regulations that brought Audi into the sport, while persuading Ford to return and Honda to remain.

It is understood that Ben Sulayem is seeking a 2.4 litre V8 which would run on sustainable fuel and featuring a basic KERS system, while reducing the electric power proved form 50% to around 10%.

The proposed engines would be cheaper and lighter than those being introduced next year.

"Now they can see, the teams and the manufacturers, that we cannot go on with this engine," said Ben Sulayem over the Silverstone weekend. "It is such a complicated engine with the MGU-H.

"It did its time," he added, "but did it reach to the expectation? In another three years, I hope it's an old engine, as it will be 15 years (since it was introduced)."

While the engines introduced next year are set to be the standard until 2030, it is believed that Ben Sulayem doesn't want to wait that long, hence talk of a switch as early as 2029.

F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali is also seemingly on board.

"Sustainable fuel, and a V8, I think is great," he said recently. "And hybridisation is, I do believe, the next step of the future. But I don't want to take away the focus of next year's generation of regulation or power unit, because that will be wrong.

"So let's stay focused on what has to be developed in the next couple of years," he added. "And then I think that that's the future. I agree."

The meeting, scheduled for next Thursday (11 September) will be attended by the teams, the FIA, F1 and the manufacturers.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by trackrecords, 26/09/2025 8:44

"@ MossMan For EV to succeed would require a massive increase in generating capacity around the World - no country currently - pun unintended - has the ability to cater for an immediate switch to EVs. There isn't sufficient Lithium in the World to provide every EV with a battery, a situation exacerbated by 'vapes': Tonnes of Lithium being discarded in a disposable device that so easily could be re-fillable, has had a disproportionate negative effect on stocks of Lithium with it unnecessarily being consigned to landfill or even incinerated. So, the development of a technology using lighter and more abundant battery material is necessary for batteries to be the perfect motive power. Also, one less susceptible to lethal gases being emitted should combustion occur together with a coordinated method for the emergency services to deal with the problem, in the form of a universal system to immediately cool the battery pack that is hidden between floorpan and a protective undertray. Finally, assuming that you are employed in the aeronautical sector, can you actually envisage a plane capable of a transatlantic journey having to lug heavy batteries around that no longer have a state of charge but remain the same mass from take-off to landing?"

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2. Posted by trackrecords, 26/09/2025 8:11

"Harry Metcalfe, of Harry's Garage and the founder of 'Evo' magazine, recently revealed that unlike the road car sustainable fuel, the F1 version doesn't need to include a small proportion of fossil fuel to provide the necessary protection for road car engine's various seals and, valve components pipework of the fuel system. However, the sustainable F1 fuel does cost in the region of £500 per litre! "

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3. Posted by MossMan, 10/09/2025 15:41

"@Superbird70 - with your username I suspect you may be in the same industry as myself (transport, but not by road) so we probably share the same technical perspective on this. I'm absolutely certain that ICE is a dead man walking and will be hopelessly unfashionable by 2030 - so this is all pointless. Never mind the noises about EVs and hybrids in the US, that's just the fuel lobby pushing every button they can to postpone the inevitable.

Hydrogen is also never going to be viable - poor energy efficiency compared to electric, expensive to manufacture (especially sustainably), will require similar delivery infrastructure as current fuels - but not the same infrastructure so it will need to be built out (and be more costly)... hydrogen is not happening."

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4. Posted by Superbird70, 05/09/2025 13:56

"I am at a loss trying to understand the separate but obviously co-joined objectives of the FIA, F1-Liberty Media, and the manufacturers.
Is it road relevance? Is it sport, sport/entertainment, entertainment? Is it setting an example for sustainability?
In my line of work there is an adage, “Cheap. Quick. Right. Pick two.” You can’t have it all.
In North America the desire for EV is waning. Some manufacturers have halted development focussing on hybrids/mild hybrids or improved ICE. EV are definitely the future, unless it hydrogen but ICE does need to go for main stream consumers, and transportation.
I am not sure what F1 is going to look like in10 or 15 years, but platypus comes to mind.
"

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5. Posted by Max Noble, 05/09/2025 10:20

"Sigh. Refer to the past article “Jane’s Addiction” for my views on this push. When they also highlight the proposed V8 will be “…cheaper and lighter…” you can see their angle. Not about world class engineering or aiding the adoption of EVs that’s for sure. Profit with a claim it’s for the fans (and to an extent the drivers) with lovely light cars making lots of noise!"

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6. Posted by Superbird70, 04/09/2025 16:33

"@Editor With a 2.4 lire V8 this will definitely go a long way towards cost cutting. It might even offset the cost of the sustainable fuel. What's 2.4 lire in Euros?

Looking forward to Mugen making its return when all the manufacturers clear out because of this."

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FIA to meet with teams to discuss V8 return

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