2030 engine: FIA sends its V8 plan to manufacturers, standard engine riles them
The FIA has circulated its draft engine rules for 2030 or 2031 to all six power unit manufacturers. It features a more compact turbo V8 than first announced, lighter cars, a much smaller budget, and a standardised engine option the manufacturers reject outright.
By Marc ErnoultCreator of OvertakeWritten with the help of AI, reviewed and approved before publication. Read our editorial policy.
A document on the table of all six manufacturers
The 2026 engine rules have barely completed their first season and the FIA is already preparing the next set. According to Nextgen-Auto, the governing body has sent a working document to Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi, Honda, Red Bull-Ford and Cadillac, the latter planning to build its own works engine. The target start date is 2030, possibly 2031.
This is not a rulebook yet. According to the BBC, as reported by GPFans, the FIA first held separate talks with each manufacturer. The text now serves as the basis for discussions over the coming weeks, ahead of a proposal due to go before the World Motor Sport Council in December.
A more compact V8 than planned
The draft confirms the return of the V8, but not in the form discussed at the end of the summer. In September, Autosport described a 3.0-litre turbo V8. The document now talks about a displacement of between 2.0 and 2.3 litres, replacing today's 1.6-litre turbo-hybrid V6s.
The layout remains turbo-hybrid, with lower boost pressure and a more compact electrical system, Nextgen-Auto reports. Sustainable fuels stay at the heart of the rules. The naturally aspirated engine Mohammed Ben Sulayem initially championed is no longer central to the plan.
The BBC, quoted by GPFans, gives more precise figures: around 900 horsepower, mostly from the combustion engine, and energy recovery cut from 350 to 200 kW. One option would be to evolve the current units by adding two cylinders, creating a 2.1-litre V8. The cars themselves would shed around 80 kg.
The engine budget in the crosshairs
The financial side is the other big piece. The manufacturers' cost cap, currently set at 190 million dollars a year, could be cut by up to 50%, to around 95 million in the most radical scenario. Nextgen-Auto stresses, however, that these figures are working options, not decisions.
The standard engine, a red line for manufacturers
This is where things get tense. To bring costs down, the FIA is studying the option of a heavily standardised base engine supplied by an outside company. The manufacturers are unanimously opposed, according to Nextgen-Auto: they want to keep designing their own units and see engine performance as a way to stand out.
The rest of the architecture is broadly acceptable to everyone, GPFans reports, even if the details still need refining. Standardisation could therefore become the main sticking point between now and December.
The next milestone is the World Council in December. Until then, the FIA must find a way to cut costs without taking away what, for the manufacturers, makes Formula 1 worth it: building their own engine.
The Overtake take
The real issue is less the displacement than the engines' identity: for manufacturers, designing their own engine remains what makes being in F1 worthwhile. The FIA wants to cut the bill, while the manufacturers want engine performance to stay a weapon: the standardised engine could become the main sticking point before December.
Nothing is a regulation yet: this is a working document, and the amounts and power figures (about 900 horsepower according to the BBC) are options. It targets 2030 or 2031, so it changes nothing for this season's predictions.
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