Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted the “purist” in him would like to see the return of the “sound of Grand Prix racing”, amid debates around the potential reintroduction of V10 engines in Formula 1 in future.

The F1 2026 power unit regulations are set to lock in the engines of the future for the next five seasons, with a V6 internal combustion engine complemented with a greater reliance on electric power than their current counterparts.

Christian Horner: Sustainable fuel opens up ‘all kinds of opportunities’ for F1 engines

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem recently voiced his support for the return of a “roaring” V10 engine to Formula 1, while running on sustainable fuel, and PlanetF1.com subsequently learned a working group is set to be established to fully explore the possibility.

The FIA told PlanetF1.com: “We are engaged in discussions with a number of stakeholders to determine the future technical direction of F1 beyond the 2026 regulatory cycle.

“A V10 power train running on sustainable fuel would be part of those considerations which would be tied to environmental and cost-containment measures. We need to consider the appropriate technical path for the sport.

“While we are fully focussed on the introduction of the 2026 regulations, and the prospect of the competitive racing they will bring, we also need to keep an eye on the future. The intention is to establish a working group whose brief it would be to explore all possibilities.”

More on V10s and the debate surrounding F1 power units

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Formula 1 has managed to attract two new power unit manufacturers to the sport in Audi and General Motors, through its Cadillac brand, with the American marque set to produce their own engine from the 2028 season, and the sport having moved towards sustainable fuels alongside increased electrification of its power units.

But while the power units in place are at the cutting edge of technology, Red Bull team principal Horner reasoned they remain “very expensive” and “very complex”, and if a switch back towards an engine formula that was last seen in the early 2000s occurred, it would be closer to the “sound of Grand Prix racing.”

He would be open to the idea of exploring the concept in future, with the next set of regulations already set from 2026 onwards.

“Personally, from a sporting perspective, looking at what the future engine in Formula 1 should be beyond this next generation, I think, particularly with the way that sustainable fuel is going in, [it] does open up all kinds of opportunities,” Horner told media including PlanetF1.com.

“And I think, inadvertently, we’ve ended up with a very, very expensive, very complex engine from ’26 onwards – and I think the purist in me would love to go back to a V10 that was done responsibly with sustainable fuel, that reintroduced the sound of Grand Prix racing.

“It’s an interesting concept, and one to certainly look for, for after this current set of regs.”

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