How realistic is a return of V10 engines in F1? Team principals have their say

Several Formula 1 team principals have voiced their initial support behind the idea of reintroducing V10 engines in the future.

Momentum has been building for a return to V10 engines last used in F1 in 2006, fuelled by a post written by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem in which he stated that “we should consider a range of directions including the roaring sound of the V10 running on sustainable fuel”.

While the topic of louder and bigger engines has been mooted a number of times since the current V6 hybrid engines were introduced in 2014, it’s perhaps the first time the series’ bosses are seriously considering the notion.

A slowdown in sales of electric vehicles, combined with technological advancements in the fields of e-fuels and synthetical fuel, has meant that internal combustion engines are back in favour in the automotive world.

F1 will undergo one of its biggest regulation changes in decades next year, with teams tasked with building new power units that produce 50 pecent of the power from an electric motor and the remaining 50 per cent from an international combustion engine supplied with sustainable fuel.

However, discussions are already underway about what route F1 should take when the 2026 ruleset expires after a five-year period.

Red Bull has devoted a significant amount of resources to building its own manufacturing facility from the ground up and has also attracted additional investment from Ford, which is primarily contributing to the MGU-K side of the power unit.

However, its team principal Christian Horner said going back to V10 engines would be exciting for F1, even though he dismissed any talk of 2026 regulations being delayed while the series works out what to do in the medium term.

“Obviously there's a lot of debate about the future,” he said. “We've got a set of regulations for next year, for 2026. I think there's some limitations to those regulations as far as the show and the racing is concerned.

“We've ended up in a situation where the chassis is having to compensate a huge amount for perhaps some of the shortcomings of the split in electrification and combustion. But, it's sort of ten past midnight and Cinderella's left the building.

“So, the romantic in you—a screaming V10—so long as it's done responsibly, with fully sustainable fuels, is hugely attractive.

“I think the big question is: when would that be for? And what would be the game plan between where we sit today and then? Because it would be a massive departure obviously to move away from what is currently being worked on very hard for 2026.

“But I think, from the fan in me, the concept of a screaming V10 engine would be very exciting for the sport—at whatever point it’s chosen for the future.”

McLaren was hit hard when its then-engine partner Honda struggled for both reliability and performance when it debuted its new V6 hybrid motor in 2015.

After a few painful years, McLaren decided to abandon that partnership in favour of a switch to Renault, but it was with Mercedes that it became a championship-winning force again last year.

The Woking-based squad will continue to take customer engines from Mercedes in the next rule cycle, which has attracted Audi and Ford and brought back Honda as a power unit supplier.

McLaren team boss Zak Brown said running V10 engines on sustainable fuel would be “pretty cool”, as he explained the challenges engineers are facing in designing complex hybrid power units for 2026.

“Formula 1’s always been a very technical challenge when you have new regulations. I think this is no different for 2026,” he said.

“We’re happy to race and ready to race in whatever the rules may be. I think a V10, definitely—as Christian said—would be pretty cool with sustainable fuels.

“I don't really see how you can unwind what's in place, really because of all the different power unit changes that are happening right now. Audi's coming in, Alpine's going to Merc for an engine.

“Logistically, I'm not sure how you put the genie back in the bottle. But from our standpoint, we're with HPP, very happy.

“They're ready to go—or will be ready to go. And so that wouldn't impact us. But it is a bit of a head-scratcher of how you would put that in place if you did want to make a change.

“And I think every time there's a rule change, I remember when hybrids came in last time there was some concern, and that’s worked out just fine.

“So I’m sure the engineers will get on the technical challenge and remain very excited, as Formula 1’s always been.”

While the 2026 engine regulations have been successful in bringing new manufacturers, Renault will be stopping its engine development programme for the first time since 1977.

High costs and a lack of return on investment are believed to be the key reasons behind the company’s decision to repurpose its Viry-Chatilon facility.

While Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes didn’t say if a return to more cost-friendly V10 engines would tempt parent company Renault to produce its own engines again, he did say F1 should look into the proposal in more detail.

Renault won both the drivers’ and the constructors’ title in 2006, the last year F1 cars were powered by 10-cylinder engines.

“I think it's quite a romantic idea, but obviously the train has left the station now for 2026,” he said.

“I think it's probably something beyond that that will be looked at because it does sound quite good for Formula 1 to go that way a little bit. But as Zak said, we are quite far along already.