Sebastian Vettel has reiterated his wish to see V12 engines back in Formula 1 four months after his radio comment.
After retiring due to ERS trouble during the Russian Grand Prix, the four-time world champion uttered the line “bring back the f**king V12’s” to voice his frustration with the current V6 hybrid power units.
And having being pictured recently with former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone at a skiing event, Vettel immediately pointed to the engine when asked what he’d do if he was in charge.
“My first act would be to double the number of cylinders,” he told the Kolner Express, something that would take the current V6 back to a V12.
“I would also remove the batteries. I think they are unnecessary except for the starter battery.”
Of course, no F1 car has been powered by a V12 since the 1995 Ferrari, as driven by Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger.
Aston Martin though is to bring the engine back to racing later this year when the Valkyrie joins the new Hypercar class in WEC.
As the future of engines in F1, a move to remove the MGU-H part of the ERS in 2021 was rejected by suppliers.
Recently, however, chief technical officer Pat Symonds has suggested a two-stroke unit with hybrid and synthetic fuels is a strong possibility when the next big change in engine regulations comes in 2025-26.