The V8 is coming back to Formula 1 for the first time since 2013.
After months of talks between the FIA and the sport’s engine builders, the framework for the 2030 power unit has taken shape. The substantial agreement covers a turbocharged 3.0-litre V8, a much simpler electric component and a package around 50kg lighter than the hybrid V6s that have defined the last decade.
The engine that arrives will not be the naturally aspirated one nostalgic fans have been asking for. Retaining the turbo was the biggest technical argument between the manufacturers, and it was settled by the calendar rather than by the engineers. A naturally aspirated 3.0-litre V8 would have reached noise levels that would breach the sound restrictions at six current venues: Melbourne, Miami, Madrid, Singapore, Baku and Las Vegas.
What the 100kW motor changes
The bigger break with the current era is on the electric side. The new unit will keep a hybrid element, but the motor drops from 350kW to 100kW, roughly a third of today’s boost, and a deliberate step back from the aggressive electrification that has shaped the V6 era.
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The reasoning is racing rather than road relevance. Today’s 350kW deployment forces energy-management strategies that drivers repeatedly complain about, with battery states dictating overtaking chances long before the corner arrives. A smaller motor pushes performance back toward the combustion engine and the driver.
DRS out, push-to-pass in
DRS is set to be phased out after 2025, and the FIA is looking at a push-to-pass system closer to the one used in IndyCar as its replacement. Rather than a movable rear wing, drivers would be given a limited-use burst of additional engine power to deploy in an overtake, a mechanism that shifts the passing tool from aerodynamic to mechanical.
Mercedes, Ford and Cadillac already onside
Manufacturer support for the V8 was building well before the specifications came together. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has been publicly enthusiastic about the direction.
“We love V8s; we have great memories associated with those units,” Wolff said.
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Mark Rushbrook, the head of Ford Performance, whose company returned to F1 as Red Bull Powertrains’ partner in 2026, framed the move as a natural fit.
“We produce a lot of naturally aspirated V8s, so we’d love to see a return,” Rushbrook said.
General Motors, due to enter as an engine supplier under the Cadillac name in 2029, will have the shortest spell with the V6 hybrid before the rules change. GM’s Mark Reuss has said the company is ready either way.
“If F1 and the FIA decide to go with the V8, we will be ready,” Reuss said.
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FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, re-elected unopposed to a second four-year term in December 2025, has been the loudest political voice for the shift.
“You get the sound, less complexity, lightweight,” Ben Sulayem said.
“You will hear about it very soon and it will be with a very, very minor electrification.”
What still has to be signed off
Substantial agreement is not final agreement. Talks between the FIA and the manufacturers are still running on the remaining specifications, and locking in a 2030 debut would bring the current V6 hybrid cycle to a close one year earlier than the 2031 date previously in play.
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