F1 engine rules debate prompts ‘we cannot lose too much time’ warning

F1 engine rules discussions are intensifying as the sport’s commercial boss, Stefano Domenicali, warns the sport ‘cannot lose too much time’ in making a decision about its future.

While the new regulations for 2026 are only four races old, talk has already turned to what the future might hold for Formula 1 and a potential return to a V8 internal combustion engine.

F1 engine rules prompt Stefano Domenicali warning

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Ben Sulayem has long spoken of his desire for Formula 1 to return to an engine formula that invokes the sound to which people had become accustomed before the turbo hybrid era, and recently said he is “targeting 2030” for such a switch.

FOM chief executive Domenicali, meanwhile, has said the “canvas of the automotive industry” is moving towards hybrid engines and internal combustion power alongside sustainable fuel.

Teams such as Red Bull have spoken in favour of a change in future, while Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was “open to new engine regulations”, but urged caution over removing electrical elements from power units entirely.

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With current power units holding a near-50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power, Domenicali hinted at a change in that divide, but has said the sport needs to move quickly on a decision to allow for adjustments.

“I definitely see a sort of sustainable fuel at the centre of the future, with a different balance of what could be the electrification in the future with a strong internal combustion engine,” Domenicali told Autosport.

“We cannot lose too much time because the time is passing so quickly that I go back to what I said before – if we need to be robust enough to allow us not to be in a corner, we need to decide as soon as possible.”

Ben Sulayem previously said a return to V10 engines may not be compatible for future regulations, but explained why moving to V8 internal combustion alongside “very minimal” electrical influence would be his preference for the next set of rules.

“The most popular and easiest to work with is the V8,” he said. “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.

“The V8, you see it [in road cars] with Ferrari, Mercedes, Audi, Cadillac. You see it with most of the manufacturers, and that gives you a lightweight car.”

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