suzuka

The FIA has scheduled a meeting with Formula 1’s engine manufacturers to discuss the potential return of the V10 power unit, sources have confirmed to Motorsport.com.

What initially seemed like a far-fetched idea is increasingly being discussed as a serious option, following FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s recent remarks about introducing V10 engines running on sustainable fuels in F1.

FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis confirmed to selected media at the Chinese Grand Prix that the governing body is indeed exploring the possibility of revisiting this iconic engine formula.

While no concrete proposal has been tabled yet, Tombazis did not rule out a return to the famously loud V10s — nor did he dismiss the possibility of it happening before 2031, when the next engine cycle is due to conclude.

This leaves significant uncertainty around the future of the more electric-focused V6 hybrid power units currently being developed for 2026.

Taking the next step, Motorsport.com understands the FIA has now organised a meeting with all current F1 engine manufacturers for the Friday of next week’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

While the exact agenda remains unclear, the meeting is expected to gauge whether there is sufficient support among manufacturers for a shift back to V10 engines.

Audi CEO Gernot Dollner and Mattia Binotto, CEO and CTO, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Audi has already made its stance clear. The German marque, set to join F1 as a works team, committed to the championship on the premise of hybrid engines with a strong focus on electric power.

Similarly, Honda’s decision to return to F1 was influenced by the 2026 regulations, though the Japanese manufacturer has yet to comment on a potential V10 revival.

Initial suggestions that the current engine rules could be extended by two seasons — with a V10 return targeted for 2028 — were dismissed as unlikely, with 2031 being seen as a more realistic introduction date, as F1’s engine manufacturers have already been making significant investments in next year’s power unit.

However, Motorsport.com understands that this idea is gaining momentum in the paddock. There is a growing consensus that continuing with the current power units for two more years, before introducing V10s, could represent a viable path forward.

The rationale behind this shift lies in the evolving direction of the automotive industry. Contrary to earlier expectations, the focus is now turning toward sustainable fuels rather than further electrification.

A V10 running on sustainable fuel would also be significantly cheaper to produce than a V6 hybrid that’s more or less equally reliant on electric and combustion technology.

The FIA has scheduled a meeting with Formula 1’s engine manufacturers to discuss the potential return of the V10 power unit, sources have confirmed to Autosport.

What initially seemed like a far-fetched idea is increasingly being discussed as a serious option, following FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s recent remarks about introducing V10 engines running on sustainable fuels in F1.

FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis confirmed to selected media at the Chinese Grand Prix that the governing body is indeed exploring the possibility of revisiting this iconic engine formula.

While no concrete proposal has been tabled yet, Tombazis did not rule out a return to the famously loud V10s — nor did he dismiss the possibility of it happening before 2031, when the next engine cycle is due to conclude.

This leaves significant uncertainty around the future of the more electric-focused V6 hybrid power units currently being developed for 2026.

Taking the next step, Autosport understands the FIA has now organised a meeting with all current F1 engine manufacturers for the Friday of next week’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

While the exact agenda remains unclear, the meeting is expected to gauge whether there is sufficient support among manufacturers for a shift back to V10 engines.

Audi CEO Gernot Dollner and Mattia Binotto, CEO and CTO, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Audi has already made its stance clear. The German marque, set to join F1 as a works team, committed to the championship on the premise of hybrid engines with a strong focus on electric power.

Similarly, Honda’s decision to return to F1 was influenced by the 2026 regulations, though the Japanese manufacturer has yet to comment on a potential V10 revival.

Initial suggestions that the current engine rules could be extended by two seasons — with a V10 return targeted for 2028 — were dismissed as unlikely, with 2031 being seen as a more realistic introduction date, as F1’s engine manufacturers have already been making significant investments in next year’s power unit.

However, Autosport understands this idea is gaining momentum in the paddock. There is a growing consensus that continuing with the current power units for two more years, before introducing V10s, could represent a viable path forward.

The rationale behind this shift lies in the evolving direction of the automotive industry. Contrary to earlier expectations, the focus is now turning toward sustainable fuels rather than further electrification.

A V10 running on sustainable fuel would also be significantly cheaper to produce than a V6 hybrid that’s more or less equally reliant on electric and combustion technology.

Oscar Piastri was fastest in a McLaren 1-2 in second practice at the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, as four red flags led to a truncated session.

After Lando Norris led the way in the morning session, McLaren team-mate Piastri had the upper hand later in the day as his time of 1m28.114s, that was 0.049s faster than Norris.

Four red flags led to plenty of running being lost, the first of which occurred following a huge accident for Alpine’s Jack Doohan.

With all the talk about the Red Bull stable swapping Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, it was Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar who got closest to the McLaren duo in third place, although a number of runners did not get to set a competitive time on the soft tyre.

After the session resumed following Doohan’s shunt at Turn 1, a spin for Fernando Alonso also brought out the red flag, and it would return twice more before the end of the hour as scorched areas of grass at the side of the track needed extinguishing.

Carlos Sainz reported an early issue in his Williams but things were much worse for Doohan moments later.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing crash

Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Motorsport Images

Having sat out FP1 in place of Alpine reserve driver Ryu Hirakawa, Doohan completed just four laps before a big shunt into the barriers at the first turn – the Australian walking away having climbed out of his wrecked car.

The session resumed with just half of the time remaining but another red flag was caused by Alonso spinning off into the gravel.

When two more red flags were required late on due to separate instances of burning grass, it was Piastri who had set the benchmark time.

Tsunoda had impressed on his Red Bull debut, getting to within a tenth of a second of new team-mate Max Verstappen in FP1, but the delays meant the Japanese driver did not set a representative FP2 time on the soft rubber and so he dropped to 18th place at the end of the session.

Lewis Hamilton was fourth for Ferrari ahead of Lawson, while George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Verstappen, Pierre Gasly and Sainz rounded out the top 10.

F1 Japanese GP – FP2 results

The FIA has added a new circuit map from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards in a bid to reduce the need for safety car interventions after Formula 1 drivers need to abandon their cars on track, Motorsport.com has learned.

After conducting a thorough analysis of safety car deployments during the 2024 season, the FIA concluded there were a surprising amount of instances where a safety car could be avoided by stopping the car in a location where it can be recovered without sending a vehicle on track. In these cases, a safety car was sent out on track when, in hindsight, yellow flags or a Virtual Safety Car would have sufficed.

In a bid to solve this issue, the FIA has added a new circuit map to its event notes, which are distributed to all F1 teams before the start of each race weekend. This new map was first used in China and has now been added to the official documents at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The FIA was already informing teams during the drivers’ briefing about the best places to stop their cars in case of a less critical issue – for example, when a technical problem is suspected.

FIA Suzuka track map

Photo by: FIA

The main reason for communicating this information is to highlight the areas where recovery can be handled quickly, so the session can resume as quickly as possible and also allows teams to have a car back at their garage sooner, which is important particularly during practice sessions.

Along the track, locations with gaps wide enough for a car to be pushed through are also marked with fluorescent orange paint on the barriers.

In addition to showing whether a car should be stopped on the left-hand or right-hand side of the track in the event of an issue, the map also features exclamation mark signs to indicate the optimal stopping spots. These are locations where there is a large enough gap in the barrier and sufficient marshals to allow for a quick recovery – potentially eliminating the need for a safety car.

There is also plans to integrate this information into the software used by teams on the pitwall. Motorsport.com understands the necessary software updates will be implemented within the next few races.

Photos from Japanese GP – Practice

The FIA has added a new circuit map from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards in a bid to reduce the need for safety car interventions after Formula 1 drivers need to abandon their cars on track, Autosport has learned.

After conducting a thorough analysis of safety car deployments during the 2024 season, the FIA concluded there were a surprising amount of instances where a safety car could be avoided by stopping the car in a location where it can be recovered without sending a vehicle on track. In these cases, a safety car was sent out on track when, in hindsight, yellow flags or a Virtual Safety Car would have sufficed.

In a bid to solve this issue, the FIA has added a new circuit map to its event notes, which are distributed to all F1 teams before the start of each race weekend. This new map was first used in China and has now been added to the official documents at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The FIA was already informing teams during the drivers’ briefing about the best places to stop their cars in case of a less critical issue – for example, when a technical problem is suspected.

FIA Suzuka track map

Photo by: FIA

The main reason for communicating this information is to highlight the areas where recovery can be handled quickly, so the session can resume as quickly as possible and also allows teams to have a car back at their garage sooner, which is important particularly during practice sessions.

Along the track, locations with gaps wide enough for a car to be pushed through are also marked with fluorescent orange paint on the barriers.

In addition to showing whether a car should be stopped on the left-hand or right-hand side of the track in the event of an issue, the map also features exclamation mark signs to indicate the optimal stopping spots. These are locations where there is a large enough gap in the barrier and sufficient marshals to allow for a quick recovery – potentially eliminating the need for a safety car.

There is also plans to integrate this information into the software used by teams on the pitwall. Autosport understands the necessary software updates will be implemented within the next few races.