FIA President makes major statement on F1’s return to V8 glory days

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem recently came out and spoke about F1’s possible move away from the V6 hybrid to V8 as soon as the 2029 season. Ben Sulayem highlighted the reasons why a switch to the V8 would make sense.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem spoke with the media during the 2025 British Grand Prix weekend, detailing the return of V8 engines to the pinnacle of motorsports. F1 will be introducing a new V6 hybrid engine for the 2026 season, where the power output will be split 50-50 between ICE (Internal combustion engine) and the hybrid motors.

However, concerns over the same have been raised by the manufacturers. The FIA President came out earlier this year and presented the idea of F1 moving to a V10 configuration for the future. This was followed by an FIA meeting with the engine manufacturers in Bahrain, as the manufacturers pushed back the idea of a V10.

F1 Grand Prix of Miami - Sprint & Qualifying - Source: Getty

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has now come out and presented the V8 hybrid as a viable option for the 2029 engine, as he detailed the R&D and production costs of the current generation engines. Although F1 will be getting rid of the MGU-H system for the 2026 V6 hybrid, the engine cost will still be around $2M for a power unit.

“To us, the V8 is happening. With the teams now, I'm very optimistic, happy about it. FOM [Formula One Management] are supportive, the teams are realising it is the right way. We need to do it soon. You need three years, so hopefully by 2029 we have something there, but the fuel is also very expensive, and we have to be very careful with that. Transmissions are very expensive,” said the FIA President

“The current engine is so complicated, you have no idea, and it is costly. R&D is reaching $200 million, and the engine is costing approximately $1.8m to $2.1m, so if we go with a straight V8, let's see,” he added

Mohammed Ben Sulayem went on to explain how most of the engine manufacturers in F1 already produce a road-going V8 engine, and putting a V8 in F1 would commercially make sense for them.

FIA President open to the idea of a Chinese F1 Team

F1 will welcome Cadillac F1 to the grid as the 11th team after Formula One Management approved their bid. After securing a US-based team, the FIA President is now open to the idea of a Chinese team joining the pinnacle of motorsports as the 12th team. Speaking about the same, Mohammed Ben Sulayem said,

“I still feel that we need more teams than more races. If there is a Chinese [bid] and I will speak on behalf of Formula One management now. Think of the long term. If there is another team from China, they will approve it 100% because it is good for business.”

However, the FIA President was firm on the opinion that they will not just approve a Chinese F1 team for the sake of it, and that they will have to go through the same process as Cadillac.