A push by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to fast-track the return of V8 engines to Formula 1 is on hold after a summit planned for next week to discuss the idea was called off.
As first revealed by The Race, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem had invited engine manufacturers and team representatives to a meeting in London on September 11 to discuss the idea of replacing turbo hybrid powerunits with V8s run on fully sustainable fuel.
The idea that had been discussed between the teams and the FIA revolved around a 2.4-litre V8 engine, run on fully sustainable fuel, that featured some form of hybrid element.
Certain details still needed to be finalised – including how powerful the hybrid was and if there would be a turbo element – but things appeared to have moved forward far enough that it was felt it would be a good time to bring all the stakeholders together.
One of the key decisions that had hoped to be settled next week was a date of implementation - with both 2029 and 2030 on the table.
While Ben Sulayem had been keen for the change to come in as early as 2029 – as he feels the new generation turbo hybrids are too complicated and too expensive – that timeframe was not in alignment with what all the manufacturers felt.
A more likely compromise was going to be for it to happen in 2030, one year before the current framework has the new generation turbo hybrids running until.
However, in a surprise development, sources have indicated to The Race that, in the wake of a clear lack of consensus among manufacturers, Ben Sulayem on Friday decided to call the meeting off.
While there was support for the plans to varying degrees from several car makers over the plans , it is suggested that both Honda and Audi were standing firm against any early switch to V8s.
And having two manufacturers against the idea was critical because that meant it was impossible to make any changes before 2031.
Under the terms of F1’s Powerunit Governance Agreement, a super majority of manufacturers need to be in favour to agree to any change from the 2031 timetable.
The agreement states that any "fundamental" change - such as switching engine formula in 2029 or 2030 - would require backing from the FIA, FOM, plus four of the five manufacturers that are currently officially entered.
Without such a consensus in place, it is understood that Ben Sulayem informed invitees that there was no point going ahead with the get-together as there was no hope of getting agreement to make a change even for 2030.
Beyond that date, however, things are totally open because there is no PU governance agreement nor Concorde Agreement in place.
So in theory, the FIA could unilaterally impose its own regulations from 2031 and leave it up to manufacturers to decide if they want to enter or not.
Any move to impose something too radical, however, could run the risk of some car makers electing to turn their back on F1 entirely.
However The Race understands that the FIA is committed to formulate the 2031 engine regulations in co-operation with all stakeholders - which includes the manufacturers and FOM.
Next week’s summit is therefore officially just postponed until a later date to allow all parties to better formulate ideas for the next stage of ongoing discussions.
Speaking earlier this year, Ben Sulayem made clear what his vision of F1’s engine future was.
He told The Race: “We need a fresh engine that is much lighter.
“This is the way to go. A single supplier for the gearbox. A single supplier for the fuel is one of the main things. And a single supplier for the electric hybrid.
“That only will work with [support from] FOM and the teams. So we throw it [at them] and see if they will accept it. They have to accept, because it's common sense.”
