How possible V10 engine return may impact Max Verstappen’s F1 future

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has hinted that a return to high-revving V10 engines may convince him to remain in F1 for the long term.

The four-time World Champion has long said he does not intend to stay in Formula 1 for decades to come with Verstappen keen to sample other categories of motorsport.

Max Verstappen: V10 engines ‘definitely better than what we have now’

Formula 1 is bracing for a significant regulation change in F1 2026, with both chassis and power unit rules changing at the same time as the sport moves to fully sustainable fuel, alongside engines that ensure a higher focus on electrical power, alongside a V6 internal combustion engine.

PlanetF1.com revealed in February that the FIA is to set up a working group to discuss a potential return of V10 engines, to be run on sustainable fuel, with the sport having been characterised by that loud, high-pitched sound in the early 2000s.

The reigning World Champion is under contract with Red Bull until 2028, but having made clear he intends to take part in endurance racing later in his career, Verstappen said he supports the theory behind a potential engine change given the “pure emotion” attached to the sound of what came before the turbo hybrid era.

More on the F1 2026 regulations and what is coming to the sport

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When asked by reporters in China if knowing a return to high-revving engines would encourage him to stick around longer in Formula 1, Verstappen replied: “Maybe, yeah.

“It’s definitely more exciting than what we have currently.”

As the son of Jos Verstappen, the former Benetton and Arrows driver, Verstappen spent time around the paddock during F1’s original V10 era.

Asked about the general prospect of V10 engines being run on sustainable fuels in the future, he explained the difference in feeling attached to the sport – even if the power units of today are in fact faster than what came before.

“I’m not in charge of the rules. But of course, for pure emotion of the sport V10 is definitely much better than what we have now,” he said.

“I remember as a kid, when you walk around, you hear the noise of the engines. It just brings so much more.

“Even if the speed of the car was maybe slower, just the feeling you got from an engine like that is something that you can’t describe, I think, compared to what we have now.”

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