Formula 1’s governing body is exploring a significant shift in how power units are supplied to teams, potentially eliminating the customer engine model from 2031 onwards.
The FIA is considering offering a third-party engine supply to smaller teams as part of the next regulations cycle, which is widely expected to feature naturally aspirated V8 power units.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 chief Stefano Domenicali have long been aligned on moving to cheaper, lighter, and louder engines for the next cycle beginning in 2031.
The most likely plan involves a naturally aspirated V8 combined with a smaller electric unit, reducing both cost and weight while returning the sport to a purer form of racing.
Beyond performance considerations, the move could also address growing concerns over team independence and the influence manufacturers wield over their customer operations.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown recently sent a letter to Ben Sulayem reiterating long-standing concerns about team alliances, including aspects of Red Bull Austria’s dual ownership of Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls.
The issue resurfaced when Mercedes showed interest in acquiring a 24% stake in Alpine, talks which collapsed because Mercedes felt the asking price was too high.
Speaking to British newspapers at Silverstone, Ben Sulayem said: “There will be no control over the teams, A-team over the B-team, that’s supplied with their engines.”
He added: “If it is affordable, then we will have one engine for the rest of the B-teams, so nobody can leverage them and tell them to ‘vote this way, or we are not going to give you a good engine’.”
Third-party engine supply was once commonplace in F1, with Cosworth last supplying Marussia in 2013, before the turbo hybrid era effectively ended the practice due to cost and complexity.
Currently, Mercedes HPP supplies McLaren, Williams, and Alpine, though it is understood the manufacturer was already keen to reduce from three customers to two for 2031.
Red Bull Ford Powertrains supplies both Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls, while Ferrari leases power units to Haas and Cadillac, who are also preparing to enter as an engine builder in 2029.
Cadillac is known to be keen on a V8 switch, and Ben Sulayem claims some manufacturers have already shown willingness to support the direction being proposed by the FIA.
The current Concorde and power unit agreements run until the end of 2030, meaning the FIA could unilaterally impose the new power unit formula from 2031, though doing so risks alienating manufacturers the sport has worked hard to attract.
“In 2031, the V8, the FIA will have the power to do it, without any votes from the PUMs,” Ben Sulayem said in May. “But we want to bring it one year earlier. I’m positive, they want it to happen.”
If a supermajority is found among the current six power unit manufacturers, which includes the five existing engine builders as well as General Motors, the switch to V8s could be fast-tracked to 2030.
Audi is understood to be keen on retaining a turbocharger in future regulations, though that position is believed to be a lone stance among the current manufacturers.
When asked about the prospect of building a power unit at the Monaco Grand Prix, Zak Brown said: “Anytime a new regulation comes out, we’ll take a look and see if it’s something technically that’s interesting.”
Brown added: “Is it something fiscally that makes sense? I think we’ll go through that process when that happens,” though McLaren is not believed to be keen on establishing an expensive power unit operation.
Progress on defining the 2031 regulations has been slowed by the FIA’s ongoing work on the current cycle, including the ADUO review and rule tweaks agreed for 2027 and 2028.