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

FIA PRESIDENT SAYS V8 ENGINES COULD RETURN TO F1 BY 2030: 'IT IS COMING'

Photo: Race Pictures

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has said F1 could return to V8 engines as early as 2030. The Emirati said it is "only a matter of time" before the iconic roar of the V8 makes it way back into the sport, having last featured from 2006 to 2013.

F1's engine future has been the subject of heavy debate for some time now, only more so since the introduction of the 2026 regulations, which introduced a 50:50 split between electrical power and the internal combustion engine, and has been widely criticised by drivers and fans alike.

During the three opening rounds, chief among the concerns in 2026 were the need to lift and coast in qualifying, as opposed to pushing flat-out, super-clipping - when the MGU-K diverts its attention to slowing the car down and harvesting energy at high speed - as well as dangerous closing speeds, as seen in the 50G crash suffered by Haas' Ollie Bearman at Suzuka.

Even in Miami, where the 2026 rules have been tweaked following the April break, drivers are still not wholly convinced. Aston Martin's Lance Stroll kicked off the weekend by launching an attack on the "fundamentally flawed" regulations that are "destroying racing," while calling for a return to previous generations of F1 engines.

Ben Sulayem makes F1 engine promise: 'V8 is coming' 

Photo: Race Pictures

If Ben Sulayem's comments at Miami are anything to go by, Stroll might not have to wait too long to get his way. When asked whether F1 could return to V8s or V10s, the FIA President said: “It’s coming. Oh yes, it is coming. At the end of the day, it’s a matter of time," as per RacingNews365.

What's more, however, is that the FIA boss expressed confidence a change could be implemented by 2030 even without the approval of F1's PUMs [power unit manufacturers]. Manufacturers such as Audi and Honda are understood to have joined, or stayed in, F1 as a result of the move to road relevant electrification.

Ben Sulayem said: "In 2031, the FIA will have the power to do it, without any votes from the PUMs. That’s the regulations. But we want to bring it one year earlier, which everyone [externally] now is asking for. When you try to tell them [the PUMs] they say no, but what will come, will come, and it [the power] will come back to the FIA."

Speaking of road relevance, Ben Sulayem said V8s would be the preferred route for F1, given that V10s are becoming less common on production vehicles. There was also the suggestion that electrical power would see a "very, very minor" role in these new changes.

“I feel like a V10…if I ask any of the manufacturers who are in F1 now if they produce any cars with a V10, an era that many of the cars had, but now, no," said Ben Sulayem.The most popular and easiest to work with is the V8. You get the sound, less complexity, lightweight.

"You will hear about it very soon, and it will be with a very, very minor electrification, but the main one will be the engine. It will not be something like now, which is a 46-54 split. There will be very minimal [electric] power."

Once again, the FIA chief was adamant such a move could be made, claiming that even without PUM approval, a change is in the offing. He concluded: "I'm targeting 2030. One year before the maturity [of the regulations]. it will happen. They [manufacturers] want it to happen.

"But let's say the manufacturers don't [vote for it], then one more year and it will be done. It's not a matter of, 'Do I need their support?' No, it will be done. V8 is coming.”

- Henry Eccles