Wolff on V10 engine talk: It makes Formula 1 look erratic

The V10 F1 engine has been brought back into the picture recently as FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem claimed that it is the right way forward for the sport on the basis of using sustainable fuels.

F1 has been running V6 turbo-hybrid power units since 2014, a formula that Mercedes mastered early on before rivals caught up. While the current power units have been hailed as a technical marvel, they have been criticized for being overly complicated and too expensive, not to mention that they lack the noise of the naturally aspirated V8s and V10s F1 used before the hybrid technology.

And while Ben Sulayem has raised the topic now, it was F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali who claimed the sport would be open to discussing naturally aspirated engines powered by sustainable fuels should they prove beneficial in the sport's Net Zero initiative.

But that doesn't mean the talk about V10 engines is going into high gear now, especially when it comes to the timing of their introduction with new V6 turbo-hybrids being planned for 2026, which should run up to 2030 at least, not to mention that the likes of Audi decided to come on board based on the 2026 power unit formula, while Honda made a U-turn on their exit decisions because of this as well and joined hands with Aston Martin F1 Team from 2026 onwards.

FIA single-seater boss Nikolas Tombazis explained Ben Sulayem's statements; he said: "I think the right way to go about it is: do we want three or four years later to go to a different type of power unit? If the answer to that is yes, then there's question number two—what we do in the intervening period.

"The progress with sustainable fuels has led to views that maybe the engines could be simpler. The world economy does lead to views that maybe we should try to cut costs a bit more, and the current power units are way too expensive.

"That’s why the president made the comments about a V10 engine in 2028 and so on," he maintained.

However, Wolff was wary of the V10 talks as manufacturers are now in the final stages of developing the upcoming V6 turbo hybrid, having invested heavily in them.

When asked if it would be a good idea to cut the upcoming power unit cycle down to two or three years, Wolff responded: "If there are the right arguments on bringing it forward.

"We are looking a little bit silly as Formula 1 when we are attracting the likes of Audi and we are pitching a great hybrid engine with sustainable fuels, and then suddenly we are saying we actually only want to keep it three years and not five.

"We need to be a stable and reliable partner that says: 'These are the regulations, that is the investment budget, you need to calculate for it'. And then people can join or not.

"But—before regulations have even started—to say let's look at the next engine and power unit, I just think it makes Formula 1 look a little bit erratic.

“And that is why we all have the same interest between the FIA, Formula 1, and the teams; we want the sport to be great, rather than looking at the success of a single race or season.

"There needs to be a long-term plan, and everybody is pulling on the same side," the Austrian insisted.

Red Bull Racing, through Christian Horner and Max Verstappen, has warned that initial data from the development of the 2026 F1 power units showed they would be underpowered, which was rebuked by the FIA.

Wolff, at the time, said that Red Bull—who are building their power unit for the first time with Ford—are worried their power unit will not be competitive, and that is why they came up with such statements.

He took the chance to take another dig at the Horner-led F1 team; he said: "I think it's people that have the feeling that they are maybe not as competitive as they would wish for next year.

"Remember 2014? The same people talked down the engine regulations back in the day because their power unit supplier wasn't competitive at the beginning.

“Now they are doing their own engines, and I think there is a lot of fear there that it isn't going that well, and that's why suddenly the manipulation business starts and the V10 comes up as an idea," he added.

But the Mercedes boss did not close the door on discussions regarding the future of the F1 propulsion; he continued: "As Mercedes, we are always open to having these discussions.

"What is the engine of the future? Is it a V8? Is it a V10? What kind of hybrid system does it have on the car? Sustainable fuel clearly is going forward; is it a naturally aspirated or turbo engine?

"Any challenge that comes up is fine for us, as long as there is proper governance on how this engine is being decided upon.

"That governance is in place today, so let's stick our heads together with all the engine manufacturers and see what it is we want to have beyond 2030, and then come up with a plan that is good for Formula 1," Wolff concluded.