F1 chief reveals V8 engine return: Cars will 'not be electric'

Stefano Domenicali, Liam Parker, generic, 2023 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 chief reveals V8 engine return: Cars will 'not be electric'

About time too!

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Thursday 13 August 2026 09:43

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Are you, like most fans, pining for the days when F1 cars sounded like F1 cars? You might just be in luck.

F1's chief communications and corporate relations officer Liam Parker gave an extensive interview with PlanetF1 recently, and revealed that the series 'will' be powered by V8 engines in the coming years.

Parker did everything but offer fans free puppies as he gushed about the sport's continued potential for growth and improvement, predicting 'over a billion fans', V8 engines, no electric cars, recognisable drivers, an increased openness to the media, and ~~one puppy per fan~~ more.

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While some fans disappointed by this year's engine package might be excited by the promise that the series 'will not be electric', it's worth noting that this is far more likely a pledge to avoid fully electric engines, rather than an elimination of the current hybrid systems.

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F1 exec: We have the best racing and best drivers

Asked how the sport might progress over the next decade or so under Liberty Media, he replied: “What I’d say in terms of five or 10 years, I can tell you one thing: it will still be the best racing, and still have the best drivers in the world. It will not be electric. It will be V8; vary that by 10 years’ time.

“But it will be the best racing in the best venues and the best cities and best locations in the world, with the best brands, probably the best automotive companies around us, maybe new ones that come. Who knows?

“But it will still be the most visible and strongest global motorsport in the world. In 10 years’ time, I’d be amazed if we don’t have over a billion fans. I’d be amazed if our audience hasn’t grown. I’d be amazed if it’s not younger. I’d be amazed if big brands are still not invested in us.

“And I’d be amazed if most people in the world wouldn’t be able to look at at least one or two of our drivers and say, ‘I know who they are’, regardless of where they are in the world, because we attract the best and the biggest names in the history of any sport: Lewis, Max, Senna, Schumacher.

“Honestly, I don’t want to sound cheesy or cliché, but the future for Formula 1 has always been bright, and that will be the same in the future.”

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