11/04/2025 18:30
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has shed light on the
meeting held between the F1 power unit manufacturers in Bahrain. A
major meeting on Friday saw the manufacturers come to an agreement
to continue with the 2026 regulation changes as planned. However,
all parties attending stated they would be open to the possibility
of "normally aspirated" engines returning in the future. The
discussion took place amid speculation the 2026 changes could be
delayed or scrapped altogether in favour of a return to V10
engines. While the motion has been shut down for now, Horner stated
the meeting did not signal the end of the idea in its entirety.
"First of all, it was a meeting called by the FIA," Horner told Sky
Sports F1 . "It was a very cordial, productive meeting, the FIA
president asking for feedback about what the next generation of
engine should look like. "Obviously, 2026 is absolutely fixed. But
thinking a little further down the line, what is the right
trajectory for Formula 1? "Certainly not [for] 2027. Impossible,
pretty much [for] 2028. It's all subjective, it's a fact-finding
mission at the moment, it's now down to the power unit
manufacturers to feed back to the FIA. "They're gaining all their
information, and then it'll progress from there." F1 must 'protect
itself' with raised changes F1 switched to the current turbo hybrid
units in 2014, while V10s have not been used in 20 years. While one
of the biggest appeals of the V10 engines is the return of the
fan-favourite noise, Horner asserted there are other factors which
must be considered. "I think the romanticist in me, a screaming V10
could be really attractive for F1," he said. "But it's got to be
done responsibly. "With electrification as well, what does that
engine look like? Is it a V10? Is it a V8? That was really the
discussion this morning is, what does the future potentially look
like? "It's now down to different manufacturers to feed back to
the FIA and let them digest that. "I thought it was a healthy
discussion - everybody was very open to ideas for the future."
Another situation that must be thought about is the uncertainty in
the global economy amid the worldwide tariffs imposed by US
president Donald Trump. Horner detailed F1 can't ignore the impact
a recession could have, given the last global financial crisis in
2008 saw the exit of several manufacturers from the sport. "You
can't ignore volatility like that," Horner added. "One of the key
questions or topics was, whatever the regulations are, cost is
essential. "Sustainable fuels, we've seen the massive progress
that's been made with it. That's a really exciting introduction
next year as well. "What route is the automotive industry going to
take [in the future]? What effect are these tariffs going to have?
And in a broader picture, F1 also has to protect itself."
