F1 News: Screaming V10s with zero-pollution fuel being considered

Formula One could be racing towards a far noisier future after the sport’s governing body triggered talk of a return to roaring V10 engines, this time powered by fully sustainable fuel starting in 2031.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the governing FIA, raised the possibility in a post on Instagram reflecting on Formula One’s spectacular – and very loud – 10-team launch in London last Tuesday.

“This week’s F1 launch in London has triggered a lot of positive discussion on the future of the sport,” said the Emirati in the post on Thursday night.

“While we look forward to the introduction of the 2026 regulations on chassis and power unit, we must also lead the way on future technological motorsport trends.

“We should consider a range of directions including the roaring sound of the V10 running on sustainable fuel. Whichever direction is chosen, we must support the teams and manufacturers in ensuring cost control on R&D expenditure.

“A V10 power train running on sustainable fuel would be part of those considerations which would be tied to environmental and cost-containment measures,” he added.

“While we are fully focused on the introduction of the 2026 regulations, and the prospect of the competitive racing they will bring, we also need to keep an eye on the future.”

“If sustainable fuel is doing the right job to be zero emission… maybe we don’t need anymore to be so complicated or so expensive in terms of engine development,” F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said last year.

“So we may think to go back to engines that are much lighter and maybe with a good sound.”

July 1, 2022

With all the issues that electric cars have, one has to question if that is really the future?

Electric Car Issues:

Child labor used to mine the battery materials
Limited range
Wait times for a charge.
Reported fights over public chargers due to wait times. How long before someone is shot or stabbed?
Initial High-Cost of electric cars
Spontaneous combustion issues with EV batteries
Electric grids that cannot handle the load, especially during summer when most of the driving is done
High cost to recycle the batteries at end-of-life
More…..

Child labor is used to mine Cobalt in Africa for EV batteries

With zero-pollution fuels planned for F1 for 2026, why does F1 need a hybrid engine whatsoever?

The hybrid components (Battery, electric motor and electronics) have made the cars far too heavy and many in the F1 paddock have called for the cars to go on a diet. The easiest way to do that is to ditch the hybrid systems altogether.

Isn’t the idea of electric cars to emit zero pollution? What if there was another, far cheaper way?

There is.

If an internal combustion engine can be made to emit zero pollution, then give the fans what they really want – a screaming V10 naturally aspirated V10 F1 engine running on fuel that does not pollute.

Besides saving around 200 pounds in weight, the teams will save millions of dollars by abandoning hybrid technology altogether. And with the budget caps now in place in F1, that would be a welcomed change.

And tell Formula E, with their whiny sewing machine sounding cars, to go pound sand.

Mark C. reporting for AutoRacing1.com