The technical and strategic future of Formula 1 indirectly passes through the direction of the European Union. With the new regulations for the power units that will be introduced in the 2026 F1 championship, the sport on the one hand has increased the importance of the electrical component, without apparently the intention of wanting to remove the internal combustion unit in the near future. With the aim of reviving the combustion unit and ensuring its future on the track and on the road, whose destinies are closely linked, FIA has focused on fuels of biological and / or synthetic origin, capable of ensuring the carbon neutrality in the overall production-use balance.
The European Union’s banning of combustion engines starting in 2035 was a potential long-term problem for Formula 1. Although the ban would not have applied to racing grounds, a European market without combustion engines would have further decrease that minimal affinity between the technology developed by the Formula 1 engine manufacturers and the one that can actually be transferred onto the road.
However, as reported by FormulaPassion.it, Europe is more open to backing e-fuels, which seem increasingly destined to make an exception to the banning of the internal combustion engine from 2035. In the document drawn up by the European Union in fact, we can read: “After consultation with interested parties, the Commission will present a proposal for the registration of vehicles that run exclusively on CO2-neutral fuels after 2035 in accordance with EU law, outside the scope of application of the rules on fleets and in compliance with the objective of climate neutrality”.
The news can only be positively received by the Formula 1 paddock. In case of approval, the risk would be averted that a few years after the 2026 regulations came into force, Formula 1 would again change technical direction, under the pressure of a waning interest of manufacturers for a technology that would not have had outlets on the European market.
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For the sport, on the other hand, a period of relative stability is expected regarding the power unit area, with neutral fuels in terms of greenhouse gases that will be at the center of the research for the participating manufacturers, while the scenario of an all-electric Formula 1 is moving away, at least in the medium term. On the other hand, those who contributed to the new regulations worked diligently to ensure the e-fuels of the single-seaters have a technological relevance for mass production. Above all, the references in the regulation to the standards set by the European Commission to certify the environmental sustainability and carbon neutrality of the production processes of new fuels stand out.
Equally important is the development of “drop-in” fuels, that is, injectable directly into the currently existing series engines without requiring further modifications, placing among other requirements a minimum octane number of 95, the same as for commercial fuels. The decision is now awaited on the EU proposal regarding the concession of e-fuels also after 2035, which would allow Formula 1 and the teams involved to plan long-term strategies with greater stability.
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