TOTO WOLFF SIGNALS MERCEDES INTENT WITH RADICAL NEW 'MEGA' RULE CHANGE

Toto Wolff says Mercedes is open to a radical new set of regulations, potentially with a 1200bhp engine.

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Toto Wolff has signalled that Mercedes is open to the return of V8 engines to F1, as he proposed a 1,200bhp "mega engine."

Over the Miami weekend, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem indicated that F1's next set of engine regulations would herald the return of the naturally aspirated engines for the first time since 2013, with the new cycle set to begin in 2030 or 2031.

F1's current rules had been designed to entice OEMs to enter, with Audi, Honda, General Motors, and Ford all on the grid, either as full works teams, customers, or, in Ford's case, a technical partner to Red Bull Powertrains. 

Such a move would be a drastic shift away from hybrid technology, with Wolff, a long-time supporter of the turbo hybrids open to ditching them, but as long as some form of battery power remained.

"From a Mercedes standpoint, we are open to new engine regulations," Wolff told media, including RacingNews365.

"We love V8s, it only has great memories, and from our perspective, it is a pure Mercedes engine, it revs high, and then, how do we make it?

"How do we give it enough energy from the battery side not to lose connection to the real world, because if we seing 100% combustion, we might be looking ridiculous in 2030 or 2031, so we need to consider how to make it simpler and a mega engine.

"Maybe we can extract 800 horsepower from the ICE, and then we put 400 on top of it in terms of electrical energy. We are absolutely up for it, as long as those discussions happen in a structured way, with people's considerations being taken on board.

"We recognise the financial realities of OEMs these days, we don't have it easy, but if it is well-planned and executed, count Mercedes in to come back with a real racing engine."

Join RacingNews365's Nick Golding and Samuel Coop as they look back on last weekend's Miami Grand Prix! The duo offer their thoughts on F1's rule changes in action and Max Verstappen remaining unhappy despite an exciting race.

- Ian Parkes