FIA and F1 manufacturers agree main elements of 3.0-litre V8 turbo hybrid rules

What the agreed power unit looks like

The agreement covers the main elements, with meetings between the FIA and manufacturers continuing to finalise remaining details, Motorsport.com reported. The turbocharger stays in smaller form after a naturally aspirated 3.0-litre V8 was rejected partly because of noise limits at street circuits. The electric motor falls to 100kW from 350kW in the current generation, and the target is a complete power unit at least 50kg lighter than today's.

Motorsport.com named Melbourne, Miami, Madrid, Singapore, Baku and Las Vegas as venues with noise-emission restrictions where a naturally aspirated engine could have created major difficulties and put events at risk. The smaller turbo should still make the cars considerably louder than the current generation while keeping noise within circuit limits, the report said.

A push-to-pass overtake mode is under consideration and is one of the areas the FIA and manufacturers still need to reach a definitive agreement on. Motorsport.com reported there is no intention to bring back the DRS used until the end of 2025. A 2030 debut is an option, which the report said would bring forward the end of the current technical rules cycle by one year.

Why the 2030 timing matters for GM

General Motors is building an engine and a factory while the timing of the next rules remains open. Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss told PlanetF1 the GM power unit is slated to compete in 2029 and that the project is ahead of schedule. PlanetF1 reported the current engine formula is in place until the end of 2030, which would give a 2029 GM unit two seasons before a 2031 change. Under the 2030 option reported by Motorsport.com, it would get one.

PlanetF1 put it to Towriss that GM could invest hundreds of millions of pounds in an engine with only two seasons of competition if the regulations changed for 2031. Towriss did not commit either way. "It's possible that the regulations could change before 2031. It's possible that they don't change before 2031," he said. He added that seeing a Cadillac power unit on the grid as soon as possible mattered regardless of funding, and that the team would speed the programme up if it found a way.

The FIA approved GM Performance Power Units as a supplier from 2029 on 23 April 2025. Until then Cadillac runs Ferrari power units and gearboxes. Towriss said the GM intellectual property would be "completely separate" from Ferrari's, with Cadillac a customer team while it builds its own engines. Cadillac's engine factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, is due to open on 18 December 2026, GM president Mark Reuss announced at the Autosport Business Exchange in New York on 22 October, according to Autosport. The opening does not mean the engine will be ready to race immediately; development, testing, homologation and chassis integration remain, Grande Premio reported.

Cadillac made its debut in 2026 as the championship's 11th constructor, with Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas driving. PlanetF1 placed Cadillac 10th in the early standings ahead of Aston Martin, which it said was the other team yet to score. From 2029 the grid would have six engine suppliers. GM joins Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda, Red Bull Powertrains-Ford and Audi, the FIA said when it approved the GM entry.

The V6 rules the V8 would replace

The 2026 rules split power 50/50 between the internal combustion engine and energy recovery. Drivers complained about energy management every weekend. The FIA and F1 announced changes for 2027 and 2028 after discussions that began in the first races of the 2026 season. The split moves to 58/42 in 2027 and 60/40 in 2028. The statement said the changes aimed to address energy management and fuel energy flow and to make qualifying more dynamic.

PlanetF1 reported that Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris have been vocal in their resistance to the current engines, which put heavy emphasis on battery harvest and deployment. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has said a return to V8 engines with minimal electric power is coming no later than 2031, with 2030 the target.

GM president Mark Reuss told The Detroit News he loves V8s and the way they sound. He said GM is respectful of the investment made in the V6 hybrids and will be ready if F1, the FIA and the teams choose a V8. Ford Racing global director Mark Rushbrook told the same publication that, as a company that makes a lot of naturally aspirated V8s, Ford would love to see a V8 in F1.