FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem suggests the sport should consider a return to the “roaring sound of the V10”.
Of course, when you are in a precarious relationship with the owners of the sport, on a collision course with the drivers and your organisation has been roundly booed at an event celebrating the beginning of the 75th anniversary season, you might well be tempted to throw the dog a bone by suggesting an idea that might put you in a more favourable light.
“This week’s F1 launch in London has triggered a lot of positive discussion on the future of the sport,” he posted on Instagram. “While we look forward to the introduction of the 2026 regulations on chassis and power unit, we must also lead the way on future technological motorsport trends.
“We should consider a range of directions including the roaring sound of the V10 running on sustainable fuel,” he added. “Whichever direction is chosen, we must support the teams and manufacturers in ensuring cost control on R&D expenditure.”
His predecessor, Jean Todt, insisted that a return to V10s was highly unlikely, and since then the sport has gone even further down the sustainability route.
The manufacturers, the newest of which have been lured to F1 by said increasing sustainability would never allow it, and for the new generation of fans the “roaring sound of the V10” would make no difference, not when they are anticipating Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga or Eminem to blast out of the speakers at race end.
Indeed, in many ways Ben Sulayem’s suggestion comes across as insulting to many of those purists that are watching the ongoing demise of their sport, aware that there is no going back now that the dosh appears to be rolling in thick and fast.
Ever eager to (appear to) play both sides of the fence, last year Stefano Domenicali also hinted at a return to “engines that are much lighter and maybe with a good sound”.
However, Paddy Lowe, founder of the carbon-neutral synthetic fuel company Zero Petroleum, recently dismissed the idea of dropping hybrids.
“I’ve seen that idea for a very long time,” he tells the latest James Allen podcast, “actually, and there’s an element of that vision in the formation of our company Zero.
“But Formula 1 is a hybrid formula today,” he adds, “that is actually a very good solution for mainstream automotive, I think.”
