(Motorsport-Total.com) – While the automotive industry worldwide is at the beginning of a transformation from classic combustion engines to electric drives, the opposite path is currently being discussed in Formula 1. After teething problems at the start of the 2026 regulation reform season, in which the system power was supposed to come 50 percent from an electric motor for the first time, critics are calling for a return to a simpler technological platform with a classic V8 naturally aspirated engine.
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Among these critics is also Sky expert Ralf Schumacher. He says in the current issue of the Formula 1 podcast Backstage Boxengasse: “The way actually has to be back to the combustion engine.” He welcomes the idea of initiating this as soon as possible: “The advantages are obvious. The cars become lighter, faster, and above all simpler.”
That the “new” Formula 1 was particularly hard to bear for long-established traditionalists at the start of the 2026 season is no secret. Many felt sick even watching qualifying sessions, seeing drivers forced to roll into corners without full throttle because otherwise they would have problems with energy management. Formula 1 suddenly was no longer a full-throttle sport, but a competition about who can manage their energy smartest.
“The sport should remain the focus”
From Schumacher’s point of view, the problems already started “when starting off, that the cars sometimes stalled. The battery was drained faster than expected. […] Accidents because the speed differences were too big, and so on. That shows: I think the sport should remain the focus.”
“Innovation is all well and good as long as you can control it – and above all, as long as it makes sense. Financially, but also really for the automotive industry. Formula 1 is no longer necessarily the driver for this hybrid technology. It has now advanced so far, and also the battery, that it can now be done in the automotive sector itself.”
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What Schumacher probably means with his statement
Or, in other words: Why should Formula 1 force itself into the role of a technology driver for series production with high “additional costs” when car manufacturers with their passenger car models are actually much further ahead? Especially since a tight regulatory corset has been imposed in Formula 1 to prevent development costs from escalating – which naturally comes at the expense of innovative power.
So one approach could be: If we as Formula 1 can no longer be a technology driver in the powertrain area, then we should at least offer a spectacular product with a breathtaking soundscape for the fans. And that quickly leads to a V8 naturally aspirated engine, as last used in the 2013 season.
The question is: “Do you need efficiency? Yes. Do you need emotions? Yes. And do you need safety? Yes,” Schumacher philosophizes. “Safety would also mean removing batteries again and making the cars about 60, 70, 80 kilos lighter with a snap. You can imagine: At 2g that’s 160 kilos, and so on and so forth.” Accordingly, the risk potential with lighter combustion power units is “completely different.”
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