Following pressure from governments and sponsors, the Fédération Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) — the governing body of Formula 1 — has adopted a more sustainable agenda, and one of its major concerns is how to reduce the carbon footprint of its sports. In this change of attitude across the automotive industry, F1 fans were hoping to see the category migrate completely to a specific format of sustainable car model, but leaders are ruling out this possibility. Check out everything about this shocking news!
What is the best choice for F1’s energy future?
The FIA has invested heavily in new, less polluting forms of energy for F1, due to its significant impact on gas emissions. With this in mind, a new set of rules has been established for the sport: they require the competition to invest in hybrid car models, in which 50% of it must come from a sustainable source. After the confirmation of these new rules, the first alternative everyone thought of for F1 cars was electrification.
Electric cars have grown considerably in the automotive market when we talk about the urban environment, and even in Motorsports competitions, such as Extreme E (which only runs with electric SUVs). So, would this be the best choice for the energy transition of F1, right?
Despite this theory, if you are a fan of electric cars — the new favorite when it comes to energy transition in the automotive industry — and have always wanted to see them in F1, we have bad news. According to Stefano Domenicali, CEO of F1, and Jean Todt, President of FIA, electric cars will never be adopted in the sport. But don’t worry, F1’s energy transition will happen, it just won’t be the way everyone imagined, and there is an explanation behind this information.
Maybe electric cars are not the most viable path
Many believed that this change would be inevitable, due to the new F1 agreement of zero emissions starting from 2026, and electric cars becoming increasingly common. However, when we talk about a very long circuit, which is the estimate of an F1 competition, there are a lot of pros and cons about the dynamics that an electric car must have to ride this long distance.
“In Formula One, a race distance is about 200 miles (305km). Without recharging, with the performance of the cars, electricity will not allow that. Maybe in 20 years, 30 years, I don’t know. But at the moment it would be simply impossible” — Jean Todt, President of FIA.
The answer to this is clear: current electric car technology would not be able to provide the performance required for F1 cars to sustain a full race without compromising the spectacle. To race a 200-mile circuit, the car would need to have a battery large enough to provide enough energy, which would make the car too heavy and would also drastically increase the time it takes to recharge in the pits.
Hybrid, yes. 100% electric? Not yet
Many possibilities have been raised as the ideal option for this new clean energy cycle in F1, but the one that most applies at the moment is hybrid cars, with an internal combustion engine but powered by a sustainable fuel, and this is already in F1’s plans for 2026.
Electric cars, while they work well in other contexts, still cannot compete with F1 hybrids in terms of lightness, speed, and range. Electric cars simply do not work for F1’s purposes. But it’s not all bad news. F1 already has solid plans to become more environmentally friendly, and we can look forward to a new era of innovation and sustainability, but without losing what makes the competition unique.
