Formula 1 has been heavily criticized in recent years, and in the midst of the sustainable reconversion of the global automotive industry, the highest category has never made its intentions for the future very clear. However, with the move towards hybrid engines starting in the 2014 season, the electric conversion has taken a big step, but always depending on traditional fuels, until biofuels were introduced in 2022, which had to contain 10% ethanol.
Now, the Great Circus has reinforced the F1 Net Zero 2030 initiative, which was already announced in 2019, and which is part of the sustainability strategy that the competition intends to achieve by the end of this decade.
Through a statement, Formula 1 explained its “ambitious goals” for the sporting community, including teams, Grand Prix promoters, partners, suppliers and the FIA, who have accepted the challenge to reduce their carbon footprint .
“We are developing a 100% sustainable fuel to be used in power units from 2026, in line with the introduction of next-generation hybrid engines, which have huge potential for adoption in road cars around the world. the world,” the Formula 1 announcement explained.
“With eight years to go, we are moving towards our goal, and we aim to show the next generation of fans how innovation and teamwork can meet the challenges of our times,” the statement continued.
In this way, the highest category of motorsport publicly shows its roadmap for the future, with a 100% sustainable fuel that is being developed together with one of the main global sponsors, Aramco , and the rest of the manufacturers. Officials at the Grand Circus defend their stance after criticism for not going all-electric, saying that despite fuel emissions only accounting for 1%, developments in the sport “may have the greatest effect on the world transport sector.
In addition, they assure that this type of sustainable fuels are being created to reduce costs, something that has been strongly insisted on in Formula 1, but not only for competition, but also for use on the street, both in engines internal combustion as in hybrids.
To try to meet the goal of zero emissions by 2030 , the top flight has taken a series of measures, including the introduction of remote operations to reduce transport, redesign cargo containers or a transition to energy. renewable in their offices. However, they have already made some progress, such as the fact that in the 2021 British Grand Prix they had their first carbon neutral emission race, something they want to repeat in 2022, the sustainability management accreditation granted by the FIA, or the publication of a guide addressed to all promoters to help them improve in practice to organize a sustainable event.
As if this were not enough, Formula 1 will adopt more measures . The main one and the one that will most affect the development of the seasons will be the reorganization of the calendar following the geographical areas, that is, they will try to group the races in places close to each other, avoiding long trips between one week and another.
This will not be immediate, but they will introduce it little by little to ensure that they do it efficiently, and they will also investigate in order to reduce the carbon footprint in the trips of fans who go to the grands prix. The lower categories will follow the path of Formula 1, and it is that F2 and F3 will work with sustainable fuels, and many activities will be shared to reduce emissions throughout the sports community.
All processes will be reviewed over time, as indicated in the statement, and the objective is clear, to make the highest category of motorsport the reference to follow in terms of sustainability.
