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The FIA is evaluating whether Formula 1 should introduce a third-party engine supply route for customer teams from 2031, as the championship edges towards a cheaper, lighter and louder power unit formula built around a naturally aspirated V8.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 chief Stefano Domenicali have been aligned on the direction of the next regulations cycle, which is expected to begin in 2031. The leading concept is a V8 engine paired with a smaller electric unit, a package intended to reduce cost, cut car weight and move F1 closer to what has been described as a purer form of flat-out racing.
The discussion comes as power unit politics remain central to the sport’s future. Recent debate around engine performance and governance has already kept the FIA in focus, including scrutiny of current and future power unit direction such as Red Bull’s position in the wider engine landscape, covered in this related analysis on Red Bull’s FIA engine verdict.
For Ben Sulayem, cheaper and less complex engines could also help address concerns over team alliances. McLaren CEO Zak Brown recently wrote to the FIA president to underline long-standing worries about relationships between teams, including issues connected to Red Bull’s dual ownership of Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls.
The subject resurfaced when Mercedes showed interest in acquiring a 24% stake in Alpine, only for talks to collapse over valuation. Against that backdrop, a lower-cost engine formula could allow the FIA to push teams either towards building their own power units or buying an off-the-shelf third-party supply, potentially weakening the current customer-team model.
Speaking at Silverstone, Ben Sulayem said: “There will be no control over the teams, A-team over the B-team, that’s supplied with their engines.” He added: “If it is affordable, then we will have one engine for the rest of the B-teams, so nobody can leverage them and tell them to ‘vote this way, or we are not going to give you a good engine’.”
Domenicali has also argued that a ‘white label’ engine option would give F1 more freedom when manufacturer interest fluctuates. He said an independent supply route could have allowed F1 and the FIA to offer engines to teams that wanted to race, while stressing manufacturers remain essential to the championship.
“Manufacturers are a vital piece of what we are doing,” Domenicali said. “But we cannot be anymore in a corner where manufacturers can dictate the pace to the sport. That’s a lesson learned.”
Third-party engines were once common in F1, but the turbo-hybrid era effectively ended that model due to cost and complexity. Today, Mercedes supplies McLaren, Williams and Alpine, Red Bull Ford Powertrains supplies Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls, Ferrari supplies Haas and Cadillac, while Audi and Aston Martin operate as works-aligned projects. Cadillac is preparing to enter as an engine builder in 2029 and is understood to be supportive of a V8 shift.
The FIA could impose a new power unit formula from 2031 under the current agreements, but doing so without broad support would risk alienating manufacturers. If a supermajority is found among the six power unit manufacturers, including General Motors, the V8 move could even be advanced to 2030.
Ben Sulayem has said the FIA has the authority to act for 2031, but wants the change earlier. Most manufacturers are believed to broadly support V8s, though Audi is understood to prefer retaining a turbocharger.
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.
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