Ferrari provide stance on potential V10 F1 engine return

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has stated F1 must take the possibility of returning to fully combustion engines in the future “seriously”.

F1 manufacturers held a meeting earlier this month in Bahrain in which they discussed the next cycle of regulations.

There were even suggestions the 2026 rules, which will see huge changes to the chassis and power units, could be sidelined in favour of a return to combustion engines in the near future.

While that suggestion was brushed aside, F1 team bosses have labelled the meeting as productive as they look to the sport's next era in the early 2030s.

Vasseur is included in the group that viewed the talks as constructive, but stated F1 must be careful not to get too far ahead of itself.

“It was a positive discussion,” Vasseur told media including RacingNews365. “If you ask me as a racer, I would love to have a V12 in the car for the noise and the sound and so on. 

“Now, we have a regulation in place for 2026. We started to speak about 2026, and we said, 'OK, calm down'. 

“And now we are speaking about 2031. In two minutes, the next question will be about 2040!”

While the idea is still only in its infancy, Vasseur insisted it was a good idea to open the door to what will come next for F1.

“But we have to take it seriously,” he added. “We’ve opened the discussion. 

“I think it’s also probably the first time that we start to speak so early about the next generation, and this is good because we need to know what the others are thinking about it, that we have different approaches. 

“But let’s be open. Honestly, it was a very constructive meeting, very positive, because everybody expressed their own opinion, and I think it’s the right way to approach it.”