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Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has thrown his full weight behind a potential return to V8 engines, aligning himself with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem's push to reshape the sport's power unit landscape for the next regulatory cycle.
Ben Sulayem recently told select media, including RacingNews365, that he is eager to see V8 power units reintroduced once the current era runs its course. His proposal would retain the use of sustainable fuels while bringing back engines that are louder, mechanically simpler and potentially cheaper to produce — a combination that has resonated strongly across the paddock.
Domenicali has now made clear he is firmly in the same camp.
"1,000%, I've always said so," Domenicali told L'Équipe. "I fully support the vision of the FIA president. With sustainable fuel, lighter cars, and V8 engines, we rediscover the pure essence of motorsport. That's what I've always loved."
The sentiment carries significant weight. With both the sport's commercial boss and its governing body president publicly aligned, the conversation around a V8 revival has shifted from fringe speculation to a serious point of institutional discussion.
Domenicali is not alone in the paddock. Several team principals have already indicated they would be open to a return to V8s — a configuration last used in Formula 1 in 2013, before the turbo-hybrid era transformed the sport's technical identity.
The appeal is understandable. The V8 era is remembered fondly for its raw, high-revving soundtrack and the visceral spectacle it delivered. For many within the sport, those qualities remain central to what makes Formula 1 captivating.
Yet the debate is not without its complications. Some drivers have been critical of the 2026 regulations, arguing that the increased role of the battery is generating artificial racing and diminishing the premium placed on wheel-to-wheel driver skill. Those concerns have found real-world illustration in the field, with power unit reliability and driveability issues already causing headaches for several teams — as seen with Audi's ongoing power unit struggles hampering Gabriel Bortoleto in Montreal.
Domenicali, however, pushed back against the critics, insisting that the 2026 framework was not imposed arbitrarily but rather emerged from a collective need to keep manufacturers engaged with the sport.
"Some people — I would add, very few people — are complaining about the rules," he said. "I'm simply stating a fact. We mustn't forget that these changes were necessary; otherwise, the manufacturers would no longer have supplied engines to the teams. That was their wish. That's a fact. And since we didn't want to go fully electric, a compromise was found to attract new manufacturers."
It is a defence rooted in pragmatism. The 2026 regulations were, in Domenicali's framing, the price of keeping the grid supplied and the manufacturer ecosystem intact. But his enthusiasm for the V8 conversation suggests that, once those obligations are met, he sees a different kind of Formula 1 on the horizon — one closer to the sport's visceral roots.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.