FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem confirmed Formula 1 plans to return to V8 engines, with the FIA targeting 2030 for implementation. “It’s coming,” he told media, and he said votes by teams and power‑unit manufacturers led the FIA to set 2030 as the target.

Ben Sulayem described the proposed V8 generation as lighter, cheaper, simpler and producing a louder sound favored by purist fans. He said the design would feature only “very, very minor electrification” and run on sustainable fuels, and the FIA says the move will reduce technical complexity, restore more engine‑driven power and boost road‑car relevance after the era that included the MGU‑H.

Current F1 power units are turbocharged 1.6‑litre V6 hybrids that use only the MGU‑K, with recent regulations having shifted roughly half the power to electrical hybrid systems. The proposed rules would shift emphasis back toward combustion power. Ben Sulayem explicitly ruled out a return to V10 engines and noted F1 previously used V8s from 2006 through 2013. He said the FIA could try to accelerate the change and warned that once the 2031 regulation cycle begins the FIA would have the authority to impose the switch even without manufacturers’ votes. Power‑unit manufacturers could try to delay any shift before 2031 via a supermajority. Manufacturers such as Ferrari, Mercedes, Audi and Cadillac were cited as having road‑car relevance to V8s; GM president Mark Reuss has said Cadillac intends to be a factory works team by the end of the decade. McLaren’s Andrea Stella cautioned that meaningful hardware changes are unlikely before 2028. The FIA says official confirmation of the plan is expected soon.