Although 2026 is only the first year of the current cycle, discussions about Formula 1’s future engine regulations are already taking place behind the scenes. Several tweaks have been agreed for the current ruleset, next year the balance will shift to 60-40 in favour of the combustion engine, and in the longer term the paddock increasingly appears open to more significant changes.
That became clear when F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali spoke to Autosport during the April break. The Italian explained that the FIA and F1 have allowed OEMs too much influence for the current cycle, and added that the future will probably look different – potentially with a V8 running on sustainable fuels and a smaller electrical component.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem went a step further in Miami by stating that the return of a V8 is “only a matter of time”. According to Ben Sulayem, the FIA is aiming to move in that direction by 2031 regardless, although possibilities are being explored to bring the introduction forward by one year.
Ford flexible because of “library” of powertrains
The logical follow-up question is how much support exists among manufacturers to move in that direction. While Toto Wolff has indicated that Mercedes would be open to the idea – provided it happens in a “structured” way and still retains an electrical component – Ford is also positive about it.
“For the future, the next set of regulations, I think the sport has taken the right approach to engage the stakeholders of what’s important and what’s at play. Everything that we’ve been part of, what we see in here, is encouraging to us,” Ford Performance director Mark Rushbrook said during an exclusive interview with Autosport.
“The dialogue is happening and we believe the right decisions will be made. And none of that will change our commitment to be here.”
Photo by: Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images
That also applies specifically to a V8 running on sustainable fuels with a smaller share of electric power.
“It would [appeal to us]. What we’ve seen in the way that Ford approaches our vehicles, especially in recent years as the standards and requirements for passenger cars have become much more regional, is that we have full combustion engines, hybrids of different architectures, different balance of ICE versus electric, and full electric.
“We need to be prepared to offer those in different markets around the world, so we have a full library of that.”
Rushbrook previously explained that Ford initially planned to phase out the production of road cars powered solely by combustion engines, but that decision was later reversed. As a result, the American company says it is flexible at the negotiating table for F1’s next cycle.
“That gives us a lot of different options as we go racing in different series, including Formula 1. We can still make the racing relevant to what we design, develop, sell to our customers. We love the V8 idea because we have a lot of V8s that we sell. We love an electrification element to it as well, because we have a lot of hybrid vehicles.
“And whether it’s 50-50, 60-40 or 90-10, we’re still going to be learning about that integration of combustion and electric. We’re very open to that, also to help with the racing on the track. And again, it wouldn’t change our approach or our commitment. We’re happy with the discussions for the future.”
Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images
F1 involvement already giving Ford “more than expected”
Rushbrook adds, however, that the current commercial picture – despite all the criticism surrounding the technical regulations – is already largely positive for Ford.
“We were happy with the rules that we have now and with making the adjustments,” he said. “We’re still getting great value out of it. But like I said, we’ve got that ability with our portfolio of powertrains that we can make a lot of different things make sense for us.”
In terms of both commercial value and technological relevance, Ford’s F1 involvement has so far delivered what the Blue Oval expected: “We’ve enjoyed more of that than we ever envisioned when we started three and a half years ago, and we still benefit from that greatly.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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