V10 naturally aspirated engines: a topic much discussed in the paddock now becoming the subject of discussion among the Manufacturers. On Friday morning in Bahrain, there will be an initial meeting organized by the FIA to assess the teams’ and engine manufacturers’ willingness to embrace a drastic change in the rules, evaluating more concretely the idea proposed by Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the International Federation.
Koji Watanabe, President of HRC, confirmed participation in the meeting in Sakhir, beginning to set boundaries on Honda’s willingness to extend its presence in F1.
Each passing day seems to make it clearer that Ben Sulayem’s pre-election move, in his bid for re-election, was intended to throw a stone in the pond, as the 2026 hybrid car regulations still have many gaps. First and foremost, the promoter, Liberty Media, fears that there may be a drop in interest in the GPs, just as all indicators show record numbers both in terms of viewership and commercial success.
The attempt is to bring forward the release of power units with an equal power distribution between electric and internal combustion engines, a very difficult technical challenge that is seriously complicating things for the Manufacturers, especially the newcomers like Red Bull Powertrain and Audi.
The promoter would be thrilled to bring back the sound of V10 engines, promoting the use of e-fuel in a clean chemical fuel campaign with no coal derivatives. The FIA has followed Stefano Domenicali‘s lead, but the Manufacturers’ position is far from united: while General Motors might favor a simplification of the engines by moving to naturally aspirated units, starting from scratch (they will debut with Ferrari’s PU next year but are committed to producing their own by 2028), there are other brands not interested in a return to naturally aspirated engines.
On Friday, therefore, a political battle will begin to see who favors the V10s and who, and it seems to be the majority, accepts the new engine configuration on the condition that the hybrid system remains: “I received the agenda for the meeting in Bahrain,” said Watanabe, “and I intend to read it carefully to decide Honda’s position. It must be clear that the reason we decided to return to F1 officially in 2026 is because we were attracted by the importance of electrification. If it were simply a return to internal combustion engines, even with zero-emission fuels, I don’t think we could fully support it.”
The Japanese position, made clear after their victory at Suzuka with Max Verstappen, is clear. It will be interesting to see how the other brands position themselves: many will ask for the V10 to be paired with a small 100 kW KERS to maintain a policy and strategy in line with their mass-market products. Ferrari, Mercedes would be in favor, and even Audi, which initially opposed the naturally aspirated engine, might align if a hybrid system is included.
The incredible thing is that it might be easier to define the engine of the future (perhaps two years ahead of the current regulations’ timeline) than to definitively define the 2026 rules: all the teams are working on next year’s cars, but there is still no definitive layout for the vehicles.
In addition to the engine type, there will also be discussions on when to introduce the new V10 engines: timing could be divisive, as no one wants to wait until 2031, completing the five-year plan for the 2026 power units, and there will be those who seek an advance to 2028 or 2029. Since the engines will need to be designed, built, and developed, a three-year period would be ideal, allowing the astronomical costs of the next generation of engines to be amortized.
The V10 + KERS operation will gather many favorable opinions because the cost of an engine designed this way would be drastically lower than the power units for the next year, which have reached exorbitant prices.
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