With Formula 1’s governing body the FIA looking into the potential for V10 engines to return to F1, Lewis Hamilton is all for it.

Since 2014, Formula 1 has been using hybrid engines, moving away from the naturally-aspirated versions, and come F1 2026, a fresh shake-up is coming.

Lewis Hamilton wants ‘V10s or V12s’ in future F1

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

For F1 2026, both the chassis and engine rule books will be rewritten, introducing smaller, lighter, more nimble cars, powered by an engine featuring a 50/50 split between electrical power and an internal combustion engine running on fully sustainable biofuels.

But looking beyond those engine regulations that will be in place for five years, Hamilton has a dream for the future of Formula 1.

Speaking at a Ferrari event in Milan, Hamilton, as per F1 Chronicle, said: “I hope that in 20 years we’ll have great races and we’ll have cars that sound good.

“I certainly hope it’s not completely electric, but sustainable with V10 or V12 engines, with a zero carbon footprint or something like that.”

The whole talk of F1 returning to V10 engines ramped up after FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem expressed a desire for their return, which has led to the FIA establishing a working group which will fully explore the possibility of bringing V10 engines back to the sport.

Not since 2005 have V10 engines been used in Formula 1, with the current V6 hybrids having come into force at the start of the 2014 season.

Ben Sulayem and Hamilton have been joined in their wish to see V10s powering an F1 car again by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who also has raised his hand in favour, while it is a route which F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali is not against.

However, one person who has expressed concern about this V10 talk is Mercedes one-third team owner and team principal Toto Wolff, who believes these are not the right conversations to have before these new hybrid engines have even hit the track.

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“First of all, we should be excited, about these new regulations coming in next year,” Wolff told the media including PlanetF1.com. “We should be talking them up. This is our sport.

“It is important to have the positivity about it that such an exciting motor comes into the car.

“We are pushing the boundaries of battery technology on sustainability. It’s the first year we’re having 100 per cent sustainable fuel. Nobody knows how, where all of this is going to pan out. And that is really exciting that Formula 1 is trailblazing.

“So all of us stakeholders, I think we should be really cheering for this and making sure that the sport is perceived in such a high-tech way as it needs to be, and less driven by opportunistic thoughts.

“Number Two. This is a five-year cycle. There’s regulations in place whilst this is the journey onwards. Having a discussion about what comes afterwards, whether it is a V8, that we like a lot, that are maybe more road relevant than a V10 going forward?

“I think it’s an exciting discussion to be had. What kind of hybrid system could be playing that role? Is that sound going to go up? All this is really an interesting conversation within a lifecycle of regulations, and that [it’s] worth it.

“But at the moment, I think it’s a bit premature. And we are at risk of diluting the messaging to the world if the year before we have even started these new exciting regulations, we talk about something that comes later.”

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