Christian Horner speaks out after V10 talks ahead of Bahrain GP

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has weighed in on the growing conversations surrounding Formula 1’s potential return to V10 engines. While the “romanticist” in him would love to see the return of such legendary powertrains, if this is the choice of the FIA, it has to be done in a responsible way.

His comments, made to Sky Sports F1 on the Friday of the Bahrain Grand Prix race weekend, come as the FIA hosted a meeting with team chiefs on the subject. When asked directly if he would support the return of the 10-cylinders, he was firm in his response.

“No we absolutely don’t, we’re building an infrastructure based on the current set of regulations, and so whatever the future regulations are, it needs to take into account the resources that teams have and you know, we’ve structured our business around this current set of regs.”

The Milton Keynes team has already invested substantial resources in building the engine partnership with Ford as Honda leaves for Aston Martin. And with this change in engine regulations just around the corner, it’s far too late to pivot to an entirely new concept. 

“We’re excited about ’26,” Horner said. “You know, it’s rapidly approaching, and in the engine world, it’s literally tomorrow. But, you know, we’re making very good headway and pleased with progress.”

Horner is a lover of motorsport beyond anything else, and therefore it’s difficult for him to entirely reject the idea of a V10 return, but he emphasises that it has to be done in a responsible way.

“I think the romanticist in me, you know, a screaming V10 could be really attractive for Formula 1. But it’s got to be done responsibly and, you know, with electrification as well, you know, what does that engine look like? And, you know, is it a 10, is it an 8?

“There’s so much – that was really the discussion this morning – is what does the future potentially look like? And it’s now down to different manufacturers and PUMs (power unit manufacturers) to feed back to the FIA and them digest that.”

The 2026 regulations will bring more of a focus on hybrid power, with the powertrains utilising a 50/50 split between combustion and electric power. On top of this, the cars will run on 100% sustainable fuels.

Conversations around this will continue.