A return to V10 engines in Formula 1 for 2028 is now being actively discussed between grand prix racing's manufacturers and the FIA.
After a weekend of paddock intrigue in China – as The Race revealed on Friday how momentum was gathering for a potential return to old-school engines – motor racing’s governing body has offered more details about what is going on and why it is evaluating a V10 comeback.
Its single seater director Nikolas Tombazis said ahead of Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix that a drive to cut costs in F1 was the key-motivator for looking to move away from the turbo hybrids that are due to arrive next year and towards a simpler engine like a V10.
“Certainly, the progress with sustainable fuels has led to the view that maybe the engines could be simpler,” he explained.
“The world economy does lead to views that maybe we should try to cut costs a bit more, and the current power units are way too expensive.
“That is a fact. We would like them to be cheaper, and that's why the president made the comments about the V10 engine in ‘28 and so on.
“That's something we are evaluating, or for '29 or whatever, with the PU manufacturers. We are discussing openly with them the best direction for the sport.”
Tombazis went on to explain how the talks over moving to V10s for 2028 or 2029 had then opened up a second debate about what to do with the new rules coming in for 2026.
There have been some suggestions that, if there was consensus to switch to V10s in 2028, then it would not make much sense to spend a lot more development money on the new turbo hybrids coming for next year.
One suggestion has even been for the new engines to be scrapped completely and that F1 continues with the current power units until the switch to V10s is made.
However, this would cause huge complications – because new manufacturer Audi does not have a current engine it can run.
Other suppliers have already switched over their programmes to the new 2026 designs so do not have enough parts to continue running with what they have now.
Tombazis said the FIA was not wedded to any particular direction for 2026, and would happily follow what teams and manufacturers decided as a whole – with unanimous support needed for a change of plan for next year.
“Any changes we do, depending on what type of regulations we have, needs to have broad consensus,” he said.
“There's a governance process. We don't unilaterally change things and impose a position, we discuss it with the PU manufacturers.
“If there was ever any such decision, what would happen in the intervening period we'd have to see. But we would never unilaterally change something and impose something without full discussion.”
He was also clear that the FIA would not allow any unhappy parties to be railroaded into a change of plan that did not suit them – such as any move for 2026 that would leave a manufacturer without a power unit.
“We don't want to impose anything that would make it impossible to compete, or anything like that,” he said, when asked about the prospect of a vote on ditching the 2026 rules.
“Above all, the obligation is to be fair, and people have invested a lot of money. If nine people are in favour and one person is against and that one person is being treated unfairly, we will always also try to protect the one person.
“We won't just go on majorities and say, 'Okay let's do it.' We're trying to build the consensus here, and if that fails, then we will stay where we are.”
