What Is V10 Engine?: Why FIA President Is Ready to Bring Back the Fan Favorite Engine

Why is F1 the most popular motorsport category in the world? The speed, glamor, and global reach of the sport have played a major role in boosting its popularity and attracting fans in recent years. But ask those who have been around for a couple of decades, and many will say it was the sound of the engines that drew them in.

Specifically, it’s the V10 engines that have a special place in the hearts of the fanbase.

Even drivers love it. The roaring sound of these power units took some of the very best, including Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso on a nostalgic trip down memory lane, years after F1 stopped using them. Recently, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem spoke about the possibility of bringing them back. This generated a lot of buzz within the community.

But what is a V10 engine, and why is there so much hype surrounding it?

Simply put, a V10 engine is V-shaped, with five cylinders on each side. However, its popularity wasn’t due to its configuration — it was the powerful and unique sound that set it apart.

At high revs, it produced an ear-piercing howl, a signature trait of its era. While not as fast as the power units that followed, it delivered the raw essence of a racing car. In fact, despite being slower than modern engines, it undeniably sounded faster.

History of the V10 engine: Why it came and why it got banned

It’s been a while. The first time a V10 engine made its way into the F1 grid was in 1989 when the McLaren MP4/5 and Williams FW10 became pioneer cars. However, it wasn’t a very common choice at the time.

When regulations reduced engine displacement from 3.5 to 3 liters in 1996, all teams switched to V10s. This shift coincided with what many consider one of F1’s greatest eras, where multiple World Champions competed on the same grid.

Mika Hakkinen, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, Michael Schumacher, and Fernando Alonso all became champions — and legends — driving V10-powered cars, inspiring the current generation of drivers who grew up watching them.

Sadly in 2006, F1 banned the use of V10 engines as the sport transitioned to newer generation V8 cars.

The FIA and F1, just like the rest of the world, began caring more about sustainability. Plus, V10 engines weren’t considered to be fuel efficient anymore, which is why V8 engines, which generated less power but were more environment-friendly, came into use.

Another reason was technology transfer. Many F1 teams used on-track performance data to develop road cars, which primarily featured V8 engines. However, the ever-evolving automotive world pushed for more advancements, and by 2014, V8s also became obsolete with the onset of F1’s turbo-hybrid era. Since then, V6 engines have been the standard.

Return of the V10?

Of course, the new engine regulations ahead of the 2026 season are already laid out. Unfortunately for those who thought the V10 would be making a return then, that’s not the case.

However, the 2026 engines retaining the V6 configuration are expected to be more powerful than the current ones, with a new balance of internal combustion and electric power.

Bun Sulayem cannot get the V10 back for the next few years at least, since regulation changes are locked in. The teams have already started preparing for the new generation of cars, and it isn’t a project that can just be scrapped out of the blue.

So, why did Ben Sulayem bring it up? Was it a genuine hint that he was considering reintroducing V10 engines in the next cycle of regulation changes, or was it just a publicity stunt?

The FIA has been under fire from fans and drivers in recent years due to its strict regulations, ranging from banning jewelry to inconsistent race officiating and, more recently, cracking down on swearing. From a PR standpoint, things haven’t been going well.

So, while the idea of bringing back V10s thrilled the community, it may have simply been a tactic by Ben Sulayem and his team to regain fan support.