Audi wants turbos to stay in F1 amid engine debate

Audi's Nico Hulkenberg on track during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix

Image source, ReutersImage caption,

Audi has entered F1 as a full constructor this year after taking over the Sauber team

ByAndrew BensonF1 Correspondent in Monaco

Published1 hour ago

Audi has made it clear it wants turbos to remain part of Formula 1 when new engines are introduced in either 2030 or 2031.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is pushing naturally aspirated V8 engines with a minimal hybrid element and using sustainable fuels.

Ben Sulayem has said he would prefer these to come by 2030 but that they will arrive by 2031.

But Audi chief executive officer Gernot Dollner told selected media at the Monaco Grand Prix on Friday that a turbo was "definitely more important than talking about the number of cylinders.

"That's crystal clear from an Audi perspective. We prefer turbo due to the efficiency aspect.

"The most important aspect for Audi, that we keep the idea of being sustainable and having a regulation that has energy efficiency in the focus as the main pillar of Formula 1 regulations."

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Mercedes would also prefer for the new engines to be turbocharged but is not as trenchant on the idea as Audi.

Ben Sulayem said in an Instagram post this week that he wants V8s to return because they are "lighter, cheaper, safer and louder".

His idea is effectively a return to the engine regulations F1 last had in 2013 before turbo hybrid engines made their debut in 2014.

The post said: "V8s are lighter, simpler and more cost-effective, while sustainable fuels mean they can remain aligned with our environmental ambitions. Most importantly, they bring back the unique, visceral sound that fans around the world associate with Formula 1."

No significant research has been undertaken on the topic of whether audiences do want louder engines to return to F1.

An article on BBC Sport on the topic of F1's future engines last month contained a poll that received 26,000 responses.

The single biggest vote was for a V8 or V6 turbo engine with 30% hybrid capacity, and there was a clear majority for a turbo engine with significant hybrid capability.

Audi has proposed to the FIA that F1 could use a V8 twin turbo engine with a so-called "hot V", where the turbos are contained within the two cylinder banks.

This is exactly the engine used in a new hypercar Audi launched on Thursday in Antibes near Monaco. The Nuvolari has a four-litre twin turbo engine with 30% hybrid capacity.

Dollner said: "The Nuvolari has a V8 so we don't have problems with V8 engines. You have to see that in the overall context. So to just pick one question of a regulation is not really answering the overall question, 'where do you want to go with the regulation?'"

Asked whether there were any deal breakers with regard to the new rules that could threaten Audi's participation in F1, Dollner said: "No, not right now. As I think and believe and trust that we will have a good discussion regarding the regulation and we will definitely have sustainable fuels.

"That's not a topic under discussion and it's more in some areas a philosophical question, but let's see what the process brings."

The FIA has the power to impose engine rules for 2031 because the contracts that bind the teams to F1 and the FIA expire after 2030.

But doing so would risk losing manufacturers at a time when the current hybrid rules - which everyone in the sport accepts are flawed and need refining - have attracted General Motors and Ford as well as Audi, and persuaded Honda to reverse a decision to leave.

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