Ford delivers verdict on Formula 1 V8 engine return push

The proposed move back to a V8 power unit for the next engine regulations won’t scare off Ford, despite having returned to F1 on the promise of the current electrical rules.

Ford has partnered with Red Bull Powertrains on the current 1.6-litre V6 hybrid power units, returning the blue oval to the grid for the first time since Jaguar-Cosworth raced in the 2004 season.

Mark Rushbrook backs Formula 1 V8 return plans

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• Why Ford is relaxed about Formula 1’s proposed return to V8 engines
• What Mark Rushbrook said about Ford’s long-term Red Bull partnership commitment
• How the FIA’s planned engine changes could reshape Formula 1 from 2030 onwards

Ford is one of three manufacturers arriving or returning to the grid this year, alongside Audi’s commitment as a full-fledged factory team and the re-commitment of Honda after five years officially on the sidelines.

Ford has partnered with the Red Bull Powertrains [RBPT] project, which started life as the brainchild of former Red Bull CEO Christian Horner under the late Dietrich Mateschitz half a decade ago, in a move that has seen the Milton Keynes-based squad evolve into a fully autonomous manufacturer of both its chassis and power unit.

Announced in early 2023, Ford’s expert involvement began with significant investment and help on the electrical and hybrid ancillaries of the power unit development, as Formula 1 moved to very different engines for 2026.

This included a move to a near 50/50 split between the power of the internal combustion engine and the electrical motor, which increased from 120kW to 350kW.

The RBPT-Ford partnership has been perhaps the positive surprise of the season so far, with the leadership of technical director Ben Hodgkinson paying off to create one of the most competitive power units on the grid at the start of the regulation cycle.

While the findings of the FIA’s performance indexing for the purposes of the ADUO [Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities] system are yet to be confirmed, the consensus in the paddock is that it’s Mercedes at the front, with the RBPT-Ford unit a smidge behind.

In Montreal on Sunday, Ford returned to the podium with RBPT as Max Verstappen took third place in the Canadian Grand Prix, marking what is likely to be the first of many such successes for the partnership.

But in the background, the goalposts have begun moving. The realities of the new engine regulations have not proven popular with the drivers or fans, and rule tweaks aimed at improving the show have already started.

The FIA recently revealed that an agreement “in principle” has been reached to alter the ratio to a 60/40 split in 2027, placing more emphasis back on the combustion engine, while the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has firmly declared that electrification will be significantly reduced for the next engine formula.

Officially, the current cycle is to run until 2030 inclusive, with the FIA having the power to make a unilateral decision on the power unit front for ’31 once the current Concorde Agreement expires.

The preferable option, however, is to introduce change earlier, by 2030, with a more cooperative and collaborative effort from the current manufacturers, to bring back a V8 architecture, with only a small electrification aspect.

“It’s coming,” Ben Sulayem said of a potential return to V8s during the Miami Grand Prix weekend.

“In 2031, the FIA will have the power to do it, without any votes from the PUMs [power unit manufacturers]. That’s the regulations.

“But we want to bring it one year earlier, which everyone [externally] now is asking for. When you try to tell them [the PUMs] they say no, but what will come, will come, and it [the power] will come back to the FIA.

“I’m targeting 2030. One year before the maturity [of the regulations]. It will happen.”

With these comments made just a few short months after arriving back on the grid, it would be logical to guess that the likes of Ford might not be hugely pleased to hear of the about-face that is coming in a few years’ time.

Mark Rushbrook, Ford Racing’s Global Director, addressed the topic in an exclusive conversation with PlanetF1.com during the 2026 Nurburgring 24 Hours, and said a move back to a V8 won’t be an issue for his company.

“No, honestly,” he said when asked whether he believes there has been a change in attitude towards OEM involvement in F1 in light of Ben Sulayem’s comments.

“The way that we look at it as a sport, there are a lot of stakeholders, and those stakeholders need to be able to share their opinion, but, at the end of the day, somebody needs to make a decision and move the sport in that direction, so we’ve shared with the FIA, with F1, with the other OEMs, what we are looking for for Ford, we’ve got a lot of flexibility in what works for us now.

“If you look at the products that we have, the different power trains that we have, there’s a wide range from many vehicles with pure combustion engines still, many full electric vehicles, and many different forms of hybrid in between, so we believe we’ve got the opportunity to still have something that’s very relevant for us in Formula 1.

“Also, in our case, if you consider all the other motorsports that we’re in, we have other opportunities and other series with different technical regulations that we can still learn what we’re looking for across our portfolio of motorsports where we participate, so the direction that it’s heading in Formula 1, it works for us.”

With the electrification strategies of the manufacturers’ road relevance interests playing a part in the formation of the current regulations, would a dramatic change of direction in F1 thus have an effect on Ford’s interest in continuing in the sport?

“I don’t know that it would, to be honest. As I said, we still sell a lot of cars with pure combustion engines and no electric element to them,” he said.

“I think going to a naturally aspirated V8, to have a small electrical element, is appropriate for the sport. We would be happy with that.”

With the FIA having already rolled out energy harvesting and deployment tweaks aimed at bringing back a more natural driving dynamic, the efforts made have met with the drivers’ approval as a step in the right direction.

More on F1 potentially returning to V8 engines

V8 engines will return to Formula 1 by 2030 declares FIA president

Toto Wolff warns F1 must not abandon electrification amid V8 talks

But, for the likes of Verstappen, the more dramatic changes likely for 2027 are absolutely necessary in order to keep his interest in continuing in Formula 1, as he labelled the current situation “not mentally doable”, if the mooted changes fail in the face of political pressure.

For Rushbrook, he’s satisfied with the evolution of what has been introduced already, and said more tweaks also “make sense” as the regulations are revised in recognition of the realities.

“It has definitely changed the racing! Many of the fans don’t like it, and many of the fans do like it. It’s created a lot of passing opportunities,” he said.

“I think the adjustments that have been made for 2026 are appropriate and within the scope of what can be done within the season.

“Further changes make sense as well, to continue learning every time we go on track. We learn, and for the sport to work together as stakeholders in the sport to make it better for all the participants, but also the fans, the spectators, I think we’re taking the right approach right now.”

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