Formula One could ditch its current hybrid power units and return to traditional V8 engines as early as 2030, the sport's governing body has signalled — a shift that would mark a dramatic reversal of a decade-long push to align racing cars with electric vehicle technology.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem made the announcement at the Miami Grand Prix, where he said a V8-powered future would deliver better sound, reduced mechanical complexity, and lighter cars. "You get the sound, you get less complexity and then you've got the lighter weight. You hit all the boxes," he told reporters on Saturday. He added that any return to V8s would include "very, very minor electrification," with the combustion engine remaining the dominant power source. Ben Sulayem has said that if manufacturers do not agree to the change in time for 2030, the FIA could act unilaterally to introduce V8s for the 2031 season.

The proposal comes just four races into F1's current era, which introduced a radical 50-50 power split between combustion engines and onboard battery packs — the biggest regulatory overhaul in the sport's 76-year history. The rules were already tweaked before the Miami race after drivers, including four-time world champion Max Verstappen, criticised the emphasis on managing electrical energy over pure driving skill. Sunday's Miami race, won by Mercedes' Italian driver Kimi Antonelli for his third victory of the season, was widely praised as one of the most competitive in recent memory.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff welcomed the V8 proposal with cautious enthusiasm. "We love V8s. That has only great memories. From our perspective it's a real Mercedes engine, it revs high," he said. Wolff suggested combining an 800-horsepower combustion engine with around 400 additional horsepower from an electric component, warning that going "100 per cent combustion" risked looking out of step with wider society. "We're absolutely up for it," he concluded, provided the transition is well-planned and financially considered.

The broader context is significant. When F1's current hybrid regulations were drafted in the early 2020s, manufacturers insisted the combustion engine era was ending. That assumption has since weakened considerably: the Trump administration in the United States has rolled back support for electric vehicle infrastructure, and the European Union is reconsidering its planned ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035. The FIA's top regulations official, Nikolas Tombazis, acknowledged the shift, saying the political landscape had changed and warning that the sport could not afford to be left "vulnerable" if manufacturers chose to withdraw. F1 last raced with V8 engines between 2006 and 2013, a period many fans and drivers still associate with the sport's most viscerally exciting era.