F1 must ’protect itself’ with raised changes

The prospect of V10 engines returning to Formula 1 any time soon is off the table.

All engine suppliers preparing for the radically-electrified 2026 regulations met with F1 and the FIA at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Manama, Bahrain, on Friday.

The meeting was called amid raging behind-the-scenes speculation recently that Red Bull, Ferrari, and Cadillac in particular are pushing for the 2026 rule period to be delayed or shortened.

"What we are seeing now is not great," Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said when asked about the concerns about the 2026 regulations. "Not only for racing, but for everything.

"Even in terms of safety, it is quite tricky in some cases."

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen agrees.

"I think everyone - at least most people - agree that a V10 is cool and sounds better," he said. "Anyone who doesn’t think so is probably a bit crazy, but you also have to look at the situation in the world.

"You also have to listen to the manufacturers - what they want. They wanted something different and it was decided a few years ago."

But when asked what happened in the V10 meeting, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told Blick newspaper: "Nothing.

"The meeting was scheduled for three hours. After 70 minutes, we had nothing more to say to each other. There was no vote at all. So, a lot of blah blah blah."

“I think the romanticist in me, a screaming V10 could be really attractive for F1. But it’s got to be done responsibly. With electrification as well, what does that engine look like? Is it a V10? Is it a V8? That was really the discussion this morning is, what does the future potentially look like?

“It’s now down to different manufacturers to feed back to the FIA and let them digest that. I thought it was a healthy discussion - everybody was very open to ideas for the future.”

“One of the key questions or topics was, whatever the regulations are, cost is essential. Sustainable fuels, we’ve seen the massive progress that’s been made with it. That’s a really exciting introduction next year as well. What route is the automotive industry going to take? What effect are these tariffs going to have? And in a broader picture, F1 also has to protect itself.”

Indeed, Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport says the outcome was essentially "a victory for Mercedes, Honda and Audi," with the 2026 regulations to proceed as planned.

The only silver lining for the V10 proponents is that another meeting was scheduled to discuss whether the strict homologation regulations might be somewhat relaxed.

F1’s governing body confirmed: "The FIA has firmly committed to the 2026 Formula 1 regulations.

"The FIA technical department, together with a number of stakeholders, has invested a lot of time in the framing of the 2026 regulations on hybrid power units with 100 percent sustainable fuel."

Another part of the statement added: "All parties agreed to continue discussions on the future technical direction of the sport."

Audi, whose Sauber team will use works Audi engines from 2026, was happy with the outcome.

"Audi remains fully committed to entering Formula 1 from 2026, with power unit technology built around three key pillars - highly efficient engines, advanced hybrid electrification, and the use of sustainable fuels," a spokesperson said.