F1 manufacturers park V10 dreams, focus remains on 2026 hybrids

Formula 1’s engine manufacturers convened in Bahrain on Friday for a crucial meeting on the future of the sport’s power unit regulations, but discussions over a dramatic shift back to V10 engines have been shelved for now.

With the 2026 hybrid rules already locked in, the meeting – chaired by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem – served as an exploratory roundtable to gauge interest in longer-term directions, including the possibility of a post-2026 overhaul.

However, the agenda was ambitious: charting the path beyond the 2026 hybrid formula, addressing concerns about performance gaps, and especially responding to Ben Sulayem’s provocative suggestion of reintroducing V10 engines.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, whose team is developing its own Red Bull Powertrains unit in collaboration with Ford, confirmed the meeting was productive but preliminary.

“It was a very cordial, productive meeting with the FIA president asking for feedback about what the next generation of engine should look like,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.

“Obviously 2026 is absolutely fixed, but thinking a little further down the line, what is the right trajectory for Formula 1? 2028 is pretty much impossible.”

The return of V10s was met with skepticism, particularly from Audi and Honda, both of whom committed to F1 specifically because of the sustainability-focused 2026 hybrid regulations.

As such, Horner indicated that no sweeping decisions were made, and that for now the process remains in its early stages.

“I think it's a fact-finding mission at the moment. It's now down to the power unit manufacturers to feed back to the FIA. They're gaining all their information and then it'll progress from there.”

Avoiding Another Mercedes-Style Blowout

While the V10 dream is on ice, a more pressing item on the agenda was how to avoid a repeat of the 2014 season, when Mercedes' early mastery of the V6 hybrid formula created years of one-sided dominance.

Manufacturers are now exploring mechanisms that would allow for greater convergence of performance under the 2026 rules, particularly to ensure new entrants like Audi and Cadillac aren’t left behind.

“When you get a big regulation change, there is performance divergence and that is almost certain to happen next year,” Horner admitted.

“One of the topics on the agenda this morning was, how quickly can there be convergence? We have a budget cap.

“Perhaps the engines don't need homologating, perhaps you're able to upgrade your engines under that budget cap to encourage convergence as quickly as possible.”

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In closing, Horner emphasized the need for a fairer playing field.

“I think we all want to have close-quarters racing, not a repeat of what we had in 2014. It's about having that ability – particularly for the newcomers – to be able to catch up.”

While the V10 conversation will likely resurface in future meetings, for now, F1's engine focus remains firmly locked on refining its 2026 hybrid era and ensuring it delivers competitiveness across the grid.

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