Turbos may return to F1 by 2011

FIA president Max Mosley stated that turbo-charged engine regulations will probably return to Formula One in 2011 during a conference in Munich this week. The statement came while Mosley was working on a peace deal with auto union GPDA head Burkhard Goeschel, where he also outlined some future plans for the sport.

The reason for the re-introduction of the technology would be to coincide with F1’s push for more environment friendly vehicles. Final details haven’t been confirmed, but Mosley added that “the capacity would be up for discussion because we don't want to have a ridiculous level of horsepower” and that “engines with would rev to a minimum of 15,000rpm and use bio fuel.” There’s also been information published on the FIA's website on Thursday, about Mosley's probable retirement before 2010.

You may remember that during the 1980’s, the F1 cars were developing in excess of 1,000hp from tiny 1.5L turbocharged engines, and these are “at the wheels” power figures. BMW engineers claimed their engines were probably developing closer to 1470hp.