Shanghai, China, 14 Mar 2026, Franco Colapinto, from Argentina competes for Alpine . The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Race, which takes place in Shanghai, China. Credit: Michael Potts/Alamy Live NewsMohammed Ben Sulayem’s push to bring V8 engines back to Formula 1 needs to go step further, with David Coulthard arguing the sport should ditch electrification altogether. After all, without the battery, the engines could be built from parts that are 100 per cent recyclable. And that, says Coulthard, would further the sport’s drive for sustainability. David Coulthard wants Formula 1 to go further on V8 engines Formula 1 will introduce new engine regulations no later than 2031, although FIA president Ben Sulayem is pushing for 2030, and he wants V8 engines to make a comeback. “It’s coming,” he insisted as per RacingNews365. Asked for a timeline, he said: “I’m targeting 2030. One year before the maturity [of the regulations]. It will happen.” And unlike with today’s power units, battery harvesting and super clipping – the biggest complaint amongst drivers and fans – will be a thing of the past. “It will be with a very, very minor electrification, but the main one will be the engine,” he said. “It will not be something like now, which is a 46-54 split. There will be very minimal [electric] power.” His declaration has been welcomed by many in the paddock, as losing the guttural noise of the V8 engines has long been a complaint. “Listen,” journalist Will Buxton said on the Up to Speed podcast, “I’ve been on the record saying this already. There’s not a lot about Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s reign of terror that I am particularly a fan of, but this I am very much so, because this returns us to something that the fans want, that the drivers want. “We’ve had so many discussions this year about the regulations, but they were always going to be a short-term regulation until this big one took place in 2030/2031. And if it’s a return to proper engines, the kind that were your bread and butter DC, I am all for it. “Sign us up.” More from PlanetF1.com on a potential return to V8 engines Coulthard, the 13-time grand prix winner, said he saw no reason why Formula 1 can’t embrace both V8s and being environmentally friendly. In fact, according to the former McLaren driver, the power units could be fully recyclable – but only if the sport did away with electrical power and batteries. “Here’s where I see this,” said the Scot. “He clearly is taking a position right now to deal with all of the negativity over the next couple of years. “But there’s this question that Formula 1 could have a naturally aspirated [engine] running on biofuels because we’re already there now. It could have zero emissions, and you have something which is 100 per cent recyclable. “You can take all of those engine parts, crush them down, melt them, and then reuse them again, which isn’t the case currently with electrification and when batteries have reached the end of their life. “So I don’t necessarily think that Formula 1 started its journey 76 years ago as a, ‘We’re going to do something that changes the planet.’ “I think it started on the basis of designers and engineers trying to create the most powerful, fastest vehicles around a racetrack, and then finding someone brave enough to put a leather helmet on, sit on top of a fuel tank and go out around the race track.” However, according to Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, Formula 1 cannot just drop electrification as that’s the way that the world is moving. “How do we make it? How do we give it enough energy from the battery side to not lose connection to the real world?” he told PlanetF1.com and other media. “Because if we swing 100 per cent combustion, we might be looking a bit ridiculous in 2030 or 2031. So we need to consider that, make it simpler, and make it a mega-engine.” Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists. You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!
