– By 2030, engine manufacturers in Formula 1 can block the return of V8 engines, from 2031 the way would be clear. This is what Mohammed bin Sulayem, the president of the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), says. David Coulthard supports the plan if the engine is powered by emission-free fuel.
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“Here is how I see it,” said the Scot to Up To Speed. “He is clearly taking a position at the moment to deal with all the negativity of the next few years. But there is this question that Formula 1 could have a naturally aspirated engine running on biofuels, because we are already that far. It could have zero emissions, and you have something that is 100 percent recyclable.”
Coulthard goes beyond just the fuel and even includes the engine block in his calculation: “You can take all these engine parts, shred them, melt them down and then reuse them, which is currently not the case with electrification and when batteries reach the end of their life. So I don’t necessarily think that Formula 1 started its journey 76 years ago with the principle: ‘We will do something that changes the planet.'”
V8 could become reality
“I think it started based on designers and engineers trying to build the most powerful and fastest vehicles on a racetrack, and then someone found who was brave enough to put on a leather helmet, sit on a fuel tank and drive out onto the racetrack,” said the former Formula 1 driver.
Comparison: F1 engine sound then and now
FIA President bin Sulayem explains how the V8 could become reality: “It is coming. In 2031, the FIA will have the power to do it without any votes from the PUMs [power unit manufacturers]. Those are the regulations. But we want to bring it a year earlier, which everyone [from outside] is now demanding.”
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“If you try to tell them [the engine manufacturers], they say no, but what will come, will come, and the power will return to the FIA. I am aiming for 2030. One year before the regulations expire. It will happen.”
Buxton here on the side of the FIA boss
These are clear words that Formula 1 expert Will Buxton takes positively at Up To Speed, but for him there remains a bitter aftertaste regarding the leadership style of the Saudi: “Listen, I have already said this publicly. There is not much about Mohammed bin Sulayem’s reign of terror that I am particularly a fan of, but I am very much a fan of this because it brings us back to something that the fans want, that the drivers want.”
“We had so many discussions about the regulations this year, but that should always have been a short-term regulation until this big thing happens in 2030/2031. And if it is a return to real engines, the kind that were your daily bread, then I am all for it.”
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