F1 Cars Will Have V8 Engines By 2031, Says FIA President

F1 will have V8 engines by 2031, says president of International Automobile Federation (FIA). 

V8s can be introduced for 2030 if four of the six power unit manufacturers vote in favour of the change.

Formula One (F1) will switch from its current V6 hybrid engines to louder and simpler ​V8s by 2031, according to Mohammed Ben ‌Sulayem, president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA).

The president added that V8s can be introduced for 2030 if four of the six power unit manufacturers – Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, General Motors, Audi and Red Bull – vote in favour of the change, otherwise the FIA can force it for the following year.

“In ​2031, the V8, the FIA will have the power to do it, without any votes from the PUMs (Power ​Unit Manufacturers). That’s the regulations. But we want to bring it one year earlier, which everyone ⁠now is asking for,” he said at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.

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Formula One used the raucous ⁠V8 engines from 2006 to 2013, before its replacement by the far quieter 1.6 litre V6 turbocharged hybrid units.

Speaking about why now V8 and not V10, Ben Sulayem said: “You get the sound, less complexity, lightweight. You will hear about it very soon and it will be with a very, very minor electrification.

“I’m positive, they want it to happen. But let’s say the manufacturers don’t approve it (for 2030). The next year, it ​will happen. In 2031 its done anyway. It will be done. V8 is coming.”

F1’s new power units began in 2026, which sees a 50-50 split between electric power (from 20 percent) and the internal combustion engine – with the new MGU-K now nearly three times as powerful as its predecessor – delivering 350kW to the rear wheels (up from 120kW).

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