AUGUST 14, 2026

Manufacturers have their own agendas

It’s obvious most OEM’s now involved in Formula 1 believed, five or six years ago, they were just one decade or so from completely dropping combustion engines in favor of full electrical motors for their road cars.

That is the only reason Audi, Honda, Ford and even GM decided to be in Grand Prix racing was because the sport was willing to progressively go down that route. Now everyone understands fully electrical cars are not the future and that’s why FIA’s Single Seaters Director, Nikolas Tombazis believes that “if, back in 2022 had said to the OEM representatives how the car industry world was going to be like in 2026, they probably wouldn't have accepted our view, because back then, they had a different perspective of the world. Certainly, their perception has shifted, for sure, and that has made them a bit more ready to discuss the solutions we are proposing. But much as we tried to do certain things, probably they would never have been fully accepted back in 2022.”

Even though manufacturers have now agreed to start reversing course on the electrification of Formula 1, Tombazis admits that it’s still “very difficult to get the automotive industry to agree on things, because it's a mixture of their belief of where the world is going, of their marketing strategy, as well as to be able to give the right message. Plus, as well as where they think their competitive position is going to be and whether a particular type of rule will be easier for them to adapt to or not, so that it all gets to a very complicated equation.”

Still, the FIA technical boss has an optimistic outlook of what’s coming next, saying that “I think on the discussions that are being held at the moment, we do need to quickly come to some conclusion on this topic,” before pointing out that “the president is pushing very hard to simplify the cars, to go for a more pure type of Power Unit, and I think that resonates a lot with a lot of people.”

With the FIA president pushing for simpler engines to return to the sport by 2031, latest, and sustainable fuels making big strides, some dream of a future Formula 1 with just combustion engines, but Tombazis doesn’t believe they’ll be the answer to the sport’s needs that early.

The Greek engineer concedes that “sustainable fuels have been a very important step forward,” admitting that “it has been extremely challenging for the fuel manufacturers, and that's why, initially, the costs are higher than we would like. I think they've been to manage to produce fuels from almost no fossil area is a success, and it does influence a bit,” where the future regulations will go towards. But he cautions that “I don't think we should also imagine that if you have sustainable fuels, you can just do whatever you like and spend as much as you like without any concern. Because it's not just a question of sustainable fuels - that in itself wouldn't be efficient, although it is always going to be important. But you can't just burn fuel and think that because it's sustainable, it's OK.”

Nevertheless, seeing the current progress of that technology, Tombazis acknowledges that introducing sustainable fuels in the sport “is definitely an improvement, a significant step forward,” before concluding that “I think it will gradually seep more and more into the road car, but it's not a zero-effect situation, and we should not be also trying to get ourselves there yet.”