F1 announces return to V-8 engines. How it impacts Cadillac F1, Ford

Posted by Talbot Payne on May 7, 2026

The Cadillac display at the Miami GP's Promenade showcased the F1 car and a diverse portfolio of ICE and EV production Caddies.

The Cadillac display at the Miami GP’s Promenade showcased the F1 car and a diverse portfolio of ICE and EV production Caddies.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Cadillac F1 and Ford Racing’s first Formula One race together on US soil wasn’t the only big news at last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix. In a bombshell announcement, F1’s governing body announced that it wants to ditch electrification to get its thundering V-8 voice back.

That’s music to the ears of its new Motown competitors.

“It’s coming. At the end of the day, it’s a matter of time,” Mohammed Ben ‌Sulayem, president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), told Reuters on Sunday. “In 2031, the V-8, the FIA will have the power to do it. That’s the regulations. But we want to bring it one year earlier, which everyone now is asking for.”

Ben Sulayem’s announcement – reiterated in a media roundtable post-race — came in the wake of another 2026 Grand Prix weekend mired in controversy as drivers, teams and fans rebelled against its new 50-50 battery-gas hybrid power unit (F1-speak for powertrain).

With battery regeneration requiring a lift-and-coast driving style around high-speed circuits like the Miami International Autodrome, drivers mocked the system as an expensive version of Nintendo’s Mario Kart video game. The complex 350-kW electric unit with a small, 1.6-liter turbo-V-6 engine has also caused safety concerns.

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