For many years, Formula 1 fans have called out the sport’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), to start playing a greater role in combatting the effects of climate change. Propelled by its younger fan base, Formula finally reached its reckoning last year, when the FIA announced its intention to make Formula 1 carbon neutral by 2030 and to have sustainable races by the 2025 season.
The main problem is not the Formula 1 cars themselves, which accounted for just 0.7 per cent of the sport’s emissions according to statistics from two years ago, but rather the logistics of transporting teams and equipment from one place to the other. In 2019, road, sea and air logistics for equipment transportation accounted for 45 per cent of the Formula 1 emissions with business travel for teams contributing an additional 27.7 per cent. Rounding up the list, factories and facilities servicing the sport represent 19.3 per cent of emissions, and event operations, another 7.3 per cent.
Regarding the subject of Formula 1’s role as climate change becomes an increasingly bigger issue, Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz explained:
“We should definitely stay relevant to the series. I think the current hybrid powertrains are underestimated. There is far too little talk about how efficient these engines are. In 2013, they burned 180 kilograms of petrol for a race distance. Today we need 100 kilograms for the same distance but with much more power. Okay, we’ve lost the sound a bit, and for nostalgics like me that hurts a bit, but it’s about finding the best compromise and getting the best of both worlds.” – Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz explained, as reported by the Spanish media.
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