Toto Wolff admits he would love to see the return of V8s to F1, but warns that the sport must not abandon the electrical side of the power units.
The Austrian’s comments follow FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem’s claim that not only will V8s return to the sport, and as early as 2030, but that there is nothing either F1 or the manufacturers can do about it as by then the sport’s governing body will have total autonomy.
“From a Mercedes standpoint, we are open to new engine regulations,” said Wolff. “We love V8s, it has only great memories, and from our perspective, it’s a pure Mercedes engine, it revs high.
“But how do we give it enough energy from the battery side to not lose connection to the real world?” he added. “Because if we swing 100% combustion, it might be looking a bit ridiculous in 2031 or 2030.
“We need to consider that,” he warned, “make it simpler and make it a mega engine. Maybe we can extract 800 horsepower out of the ICE and put 400 on top of it, or more, in terms of electric energy. We are absolutely up for it as long as those discussions happen in a structured way, with people’s consideration being taken on board.
“We recognise the financial realities of OEMs these days. We don’t have it easy. But if it’s well planned and executed, we Mercedes are happy to come back with a real racing engine.”