https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/153441/f1-commits-to-hybrid-power-units-for-next-generation Formula 1 is committed to hybrid power units for its new generation of engines, as it believes a push on sustainable fuels can have a positive impact on the environment. F1 is planning on switching to a new concept of engine from 2026 at the latest, with teams having agreed to stick with the current turbo hybrid V6s for now. And while Honda's decision to quit F1 after 2021 prompted talk about the need for the championship to perhaps look at more radical engine technology, like electric or hydrogen when it comes to the new rules, the sport has reaffirmed that it believes a new generation of hybrids is the right way to go. PLUS: Why Honda's F1 exit will not force F1 hybrid U-turn It believes that its focus should not be on an all-new engine direction, but instead pushing the boundaries with sustainable fuels, with any innovation then transferring across to the real world. In a statement from F1 detailing its sustainability push, it was made clear that the knock-on impact of improving fuel available to the public could be of huge importance. "It is important that the most visual part of our sport is sustainable and can have real world benefits," said F1. "We believe that with over one billion of the 1.1 billion vehicles in the world powered by internal combustion engines, we have the potential to lead the way in technologies that reduce automotive carbon emissions globally. Image Unavailable, Please Login "We also believe that there is not a single solution to the engine technologies of the future but that a sustainable fuel hybrid engine will be a significant moment for the sport and the automotive sector." The championship has set up a working group of F1 and FIA personnel to investigate future engine technology based around the use of sustainable fuels. It added: "This group will be expanded to include specialists from the OEMs and energy suppliers as well as seeking expertise from independent research groups." F1 also detailed how it has made progress with its bid to reduce the sport's carbon footprint. It has been awarded the highest sustainability accreditation that the FIA can award, plus it has managed to fast-track what was a two-year plan to reduce the broadcast facilities needed at races and run it remotely from its Biggin Hill headquarters instead. This has reduced staff and freight by around one third. From 2021, F1, the FIA and teams aim to significantly reduce the amount of single-use plastic bottles, cutlery and food waste in the pit and paddock. While F1 is looking to become carbon neutral by 2030, Red Bull has announced its own plans to cut its own emission dramatically. As part of a new 'No Bull' project, it wants to be net carbon neutral for this season, and reduce its CO2 emission for the 23-race schedule next year by 5000 tonnes. It has partnered with Gold Standard to help offset any unavoidable emissions.
FIA will move forward now. The only question is who will join the new configuration. Will new makers arrive.
Worthy. A PC platform for manufacturers. No chance for independent racing teams who just want to race. Fortunately I witnessed F1 when it was a swashbuckling sport.
Biofuels is next for these hybrid engines to lower their carbon footprint No one will join. No one will arrive. It would take over a billion USD and over 5 years to catch-up with Ferrari, Renault and Honda. Even longer and costlier to catch-up to Mercedes.
We shall see what develops. For me its hard to see others wanting to invest in this series as a major shift in transport not involving racing occurs. Formula E is established now as a laboratory for E type motivation. Im not seeing a bio - fuel focus in motoring press but who knows eh?
Possibly, and the decision to continue hybrid rule beyond 2026 may be an incentive for another manufacturer to join. Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda have been the trailblazers in the new technology; they spent time and mpney to learn that system. By now there must be hundreds of engineers who have worked with hybrid F1 in the last decade, so there is a lot of knowledge to trasmit. A new constructor in the hybrid F1 arena wouldn't start from scratch but inherit the know how that's available if you recruit the right people, by that I mean if you poach them from ... Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari and Honda!
And IndyCar is also on board with a hybrid formula. That's where the manufactures are therefore that's where the money is.
F1 will be losing its USP, and Indy Car is a bigger platform for the US market. F1 will be stuck somewhere between Indy Car and Formula E. Becoming neither unique or a spectacle it's the beginning of the end for F1
It is just more ethanol. 10%. It will do nothing to lower F1's carbon footprint because it is soaked to the bone in fossil fuels. A whopping 5% more ethanol in the fuel and FIA is trumpeting the sport as being green. I bet the FIA are wondering why more people stop watching every year. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. One only has to look at WRC and WEC to see where FIA is taking F1. No one is going to join this sport, especially after the giant hole the pandemic has left in everyone's profits. I'm surprised Renault hasn't pulled the plug yet.
Each series, WRC, WEC and F1 have different rights holders, and the FIA isn't strictly the manager of these series. But the FIA is the authority that ensures the rules are adhered to, and the final referee. The fact that Prodrive, the ACO and Liberty converge in their technical rules towards a carbon free sport is only to ensure that rallying and circuit racing continue to be accepted in countries that aim for carbon free emission. There is a lot of arm twisting behind the scene that the public is not aware of, or chose to ignore, to make motor racing as ecologically frendly as possible. That is the reality.
One can eliminate entirely the carbon footprint of F1 race cars and not make a 1% dent in the amount of fuel consumed getting race fans in and out.
This could be more promising than it looks at first glance. It is a fact that the motor industry is creeping back to hybrid powertrains (aka 'electrification') for the next 10-15 years rather than putting everything into the 'all-electric' basket. There are many reasons for this. There is still a lot of low-hanging fruit when comes to improving ICE emissions. It can be cleaner on a well-to-wheel basis given the slow progress toward cleaner electricity generation. It is more economic and less disruptive to phase out the ICE over a longer time period. Battery technology is not advancing as quickly as hoped and there is a 'format war' in recharging technology which will take time to resolve. Provided the FIA does not over-legislate the biofuel specifications, there is a lot of scope for competing alternative biofuel companies to enter F1 with the aim of demonstrating the capabilities and advantages of their distinct technologies – a fair number of which are based on waste feedstocks. They could bring new funding to the teams (recall the tire wars of yesteryear) with frozen-spec PUs becoming more of a commodity and dropping somewhat in price. Just some food for thought...
F1 wants to be the spearhead of carbon free emission. It can be a excellent platform to experiment with alternative fuels. The carbon footprint of fans attending events is an issue that is addressed by different authorities, governments, constructors, etc ...
+1 No doubt that the ICE isn't dead yet and that hybridisation can be its saviour, with the help of alternative fuels. In between I am glad that the FIA has decided to give it a new lease of life with the post-26 technical rules.
No one will care what % ethanol they run in the fuel in exactly the same way no one cares if they are hybrid engines. It's just more pointless and aimless twiddling around that will do exactly nothing for the racing.
Could be room for bio diesel... If biofuel tech increases the revenue base of the teams and the sport as a whole, isn't that good for the racing?