The iconic roar of a V10 engine left the F1 paddock 18 years ago, but it seems to be making a comeback at the behest of FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The 63-year-old Emirati sparked this debate when he recently revealed the possibility of the sport reverting to a naturally aspirated V10 engine.
This comes amid the sport gearing up for the 2026 engine regulations reset that will see the power unit become a true ‘hybrid’ with a 50-50 split between combustion propulsion and electrical energy.
However, Fernando Alonso, who won both his world titles in the V10 era, isn’t endorsing the possibility of V10s coming back to F1. The Spaniard based his observations on the fact that the future of motorsport is now in the hands of hybrid power units.
“Obviously, I love the era of V10s and V8s and the sound those cars produced, I miss it. We also live in a different world,” he said, as quoted by RaceFans. Given the kind of fuel-efficient cars F1 has now due to the hybrid engines, it won’t make sense to revert to V10s, per him. While this was a technical assessment by Alonso, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has raised another concern on how silly the sport may look if such a change happens.
“We look a bit silly as Formula 1 when we attract people like Audi and offer a great hybrid engine with sustainable fuels and then suddenly say that we only want to keep it for three years and not five,” he explained.
Wolff’s perspective makes a strong point. The arrival of a V10 power unit would mean that the life span of the proposed 2026 regulations—which were supposed to last for at least five seasons—would be shortened to just three years.
BREAKING: Formula 1 could go back to using V10 engines!
There are discussions taking place within F1, with one to keep the current regs for 2 more years and switch to V10’s in 2028
Another is to keep the 2026 regs for only 3 years instead of 5 before switching to V10 engines pic.twitter.com/xGmWQw3pq6
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) March 19, 2025
And even if they completely shelve the idea of the brand-new 2026 hybrid power units and extend the current V6 hybrid engine rules by two or three years, new manufacturers like Audi and RBPT-Ford may be left shorthanded with no power units of the current generation.
Wolff also underscored the fact that this V10 proposal goes against the reasons why new manufacturers such as Audi and Ford agreed to enter the sport in the first place. With their road car programs focused on electric powertrains, the increase in electrical energy in the 2026 power units was a major stimulus for Audi and Ford to ratify their decision to enter F1.
What do F1 teams think about a return to V10s?
As things stand, if the FIA goes ahead with the idea to reintroduce V10s, the earliest we could see this happening is the 2029 season. However, many factors will go into consideration to make a solid proposal to back this change.
F1 power units are tricky to develop and cost millions of dollars. All the teams on the grid have already invested heavily in the 2026 power units, and a sudden change by the governing body could turn out to be disastrously costly for the OEM manufacturers.
Despite only murmurs and rumors, organizations like Audi have already started showing strong opposition to this idea. The German automobile giants recently released a statement that reflected their feelings about ditching the hybrid power units.
“The upcoming regulation changes, including the new hybrid power unit regulations set for the 2026 season and beyond, were a key factor in Audi’s decision to enter Formula 1. These power unit regulations reflect the same technological advancements that drive innovation in Audi’s road cars,” the company said as per The Race.
Given Audi have completely bought out Sauber to enter the sport in 2026, they have a lot at stake and won’t tolerate such a sudden change of direction in the engine formula.
