Lewis Hamilton is preparing for his first season racing in red after quitting Mercedes for Ferrari yet the seven-time champion has also cast his eyes on Formula 1’s future.
The 40-year-old may likely be nearing the end of his days on the grid, but the Briton has zero plans to throw in the towel just yet. Hamilton broke out of his contract at Mercedes to move to Ferrari on an initial two-year deal, which contains an option to stay in Maranello for 2027.
Hamilton stunned the Formula 1 world with his decision to leave Mercedes after winning six of his seven titles at the Silver Arrows. Yet he did so with the aim of lifting a record-breaking eighth F1 drivers’ championship as Hamilton realises his childhood dream to race for Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton backs F1 bringing back V10 engines as long as they emit zero pollutants
Hamilton will debut for Ferrari at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix on March 16 as the Briton’s 19th Formula 1 season begins. It will also be his first season in F1 using a Ferrari engine after racing Mercedes V8s from 2007-13 plus the Silver Arrows’ 1.6L V6 turbo-hybrids from 2014.
Ferrari are currently designing a new power unit for F1’s 2026 engine and chassis regulation changes, when engines will run 100% sustainable fuels and have a near 50-50 split between electric and internal combustion power. Yet F1 and the FIA are looking toward 2030 already.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and chassis regulations
F1 and the FIA must look beyond the regulations coming next year, which tempted Audi and Cadillac to join the grid and Ford link up with Red Bull, due to the time teams need to design engines. And FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem suggests F1 brings back V10 engines.
Also, Bernie Ecclestone told the F1 Commission to bring back V10s at a recent summit ahead of the 2025 season. The former F1 supremo called Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner directly at February’s F1 Commission meeting to tout the idea to change the engine formula.
Now, Ferrari star Hamilton has even thrown his support behind Ben Sulayem’s suggestion to bring V10 engines back to F1. But the Briton is clear that, while he wants engines that sound good, the FIA and F1 should only return to using bigger engines if they emit zero pollutants.
“I hope that in 20 years’ time we still have great racing and cars that sound good,” Hamilton noted, via quotes by Formule1.NL. “I especially hope that the championship will not be fully electric. Let’s go back to V10 or V12 engines that don’t emit any pollutants.”
Fernando Alonso won the last F1 race with a V10 engine for Renault in 2005
F1 has not used V10 engines since the 2005 season when Fernando Alonso won his first of two consecutive Formula 1 drivers’ championship titles at Renault. No F1 team has fielded a V12 engine since Ferrari in the 1995 season, too, when other crews used either V8s or V10s.
Jean Alesi scored the last F1 race win with a V12 engine for Ferrari’s only victory of the 1995 season at the Canadian Grand Prix. Alonso got the final F1 race win with a V10 engine at the 2005 Chinese Grand Prix to finish his and Renault’s drivers’ and teams’ title-winning season.
Hamilton has only ever experienced V10-powered Formula 1 cars at show runs. But he joins the calls for the FIA and Formula 1 to scrap the V6 turbo-hybrid power unit format after the 2026 regulations. It remains to be seen if F1’s engine manufactures also join the hype train.
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