Audi wants turbos to stay in F1 amid engine debate

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

>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 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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