Could the V8s make a roaring return to Formula 1?

Away from the races, the finance of Formula 1 is often a main source of headlines for the sport. With the rejection of budget cap proposals and the economic plight of the smaller teams, could the debated return of the 3.5l naturally aspirated V8 engine provide a solution to the spiraling costs of running a Formula 1 team?

A potential return to the V8?

It takes an approximate £158 million budget in order to run at the highest echelon of motor sport. With £41 million required for research and development in the wind-tunnel and on track testing, a further £42 million is needed to cover driver, team management and staff salaries. £39 million is dedicated to the manufacturing of the car (not including the hybrid power train) and then £36 million spent on operations such as the logistics and travel costs of a team to each venue. Obviously sponsorship deals go some way to recouping the cost of running, but for the smaller teams that struggle to attract the big money deals, the spending is far from sustainable. Therefore, a possible solution for the smaller midfield constructors would be to run the old style V8 engines to cut out the phenomenally expensive hybrid power units currently used.

So in order to keep a healthy grid, a potential 'Super GP2' specification car could be an alternative. The smaller teams are of huge importance to the sport, so to lose them in favour of three car teams where the podium could be all Mercedes would be to the detriment of the sport. As such a tiered system of the bottom five teams using the old V8s would seem a better option and eliminate the massive hindrance from operating with a much smaller budget than the leading teams. This means that the racing would be closer in the two tiers that would race in the field. With the works teams like Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren Honda and Mercedes running the hybrid platform and the privateer teams adopting the V8s, a potential partial solution to the economic disparity could be spawned as the new power trains are some 500% more expensive per unit.

Prominent figures in the sport have already declared an interest in just such a scheme. Bernie who openly objected to the demise of the V8s under the reign of FIA President Jean Todt has hinted at the use of a tiered system to the sport. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has called for the V8s to return also (admittedly no surprise given the Mercedes dominance and Renault's under performance). As such, this idea is definitely not out of the question.

"Bernie, do you remember when I had those reliable V8s?"

However, to implement such an idea does provide its own problems. One of which being how to homologate the performance difference in the cars using the different power trains. Possible solutions include added weight bias to the more powerful hybrids/ lower weight thresholds for the smaller teams given the V8s lower efficiency levels meaning they need to carry more fuel. Alternatively, restrictors on the engines could be employed to manage engine performance.

Hybrids: The field may  well become one combing the V6 & V8s

After the saddening loss of Caterham and Marussia at the tail end of last season and the reported struggles of Lotus, Sauber and Force India, action needs to happen. In fact, when the Virgin/ Marussia/ Manor team entered in 2010 it was as a result of the planned introduction of budget caps as pushed for by then FIA President, Max Mosley. The above plan is by no means a solution to the economics of the sport, but it would go some way to restricting the difference between the teams spending £500 million and those spending £50 million. The two tiers would provide competitive racing within them and the glorious sound of those screaming V8s would return to the sport.

It's all just an idea though that has trickled down to the gossip columns and media outlets, but it is one tooted suggestion out of many alternatives to control the sport's finances. It may never be opted for, however a return to the V8s certainly does provide an interesting and compelling prospect should such a rule change ever be adopted.