The F1 2026 fuels are generating plenty of discussion. While the FIA has approved a season-long exemption designed to make it easier for partners to develop sustainable gasoline, Ferrari’s supplier is offering strong credentials: Shell has worked in the right way, guaranteeing timelines and performance in line with expectations for the start of the next world championship, without encountering particular issues, unlike other distributors.
F1 2026: the rules on fuel composition
The new CO₂-neutral fuel was originally meant to debut fully with the 2026 regulatory cycle. In reality, its introduction will go through a transitional phase. For the Barcelona and Bahrain tests, the FIA has authorised teams and suppliers not to use fully homologated blends yet, granting an operational extension. Sustainable fuel remains one of the conceptual pillars of the new regulations.
The goal does not concern only the absence of emissions at the exhaust, but the entire production chain: from the origin of raw materials to final production. The fuel must be free of fossil components, produced through chemical synthesis by combining hydrogen and atmospheric CO₂, or derived from industrially processed biomass. High energy density and stable combustion under the extreme pressures of the new engines are essential requirements.
Suppliers are developing highly specialised molecular blends. The main issue remains the availability of components: many of these must be produced internally through complex and expensive processes. Estimates speak of values reaching up to 250 euros per litre, highlighting the extremely high technological content of the product. From a performance perspective, fuel will become a genuine competitive variable.
A more efficient blend allows teams to reduce the fuel load at the start, lowering the overall weight of the car. Biofuels present different physical characteristics compared to fossil-based products: less effective atomisation, different thermal behaviour and greater sensitivity to detonation. Molecular chains must ensure controlled combustion even under extreme compression, avoiding instability or power loss.
F1 2026: the International Federation’s waiver on sustainable fuels
The complexity of the project has put some suppliers under pressure, leading them to officially request a temporary waiver from the International Federation. Formula 1’s governing body accepted the request, allowing the use of blends that are not yet certified during non-race tests. In this preliminary phase, power units could theoretically also run on fossil fuels.
The FIA justifies this choice by granting additional time to complete development and the homologation process, which involves checking every molecule and additive according to sustainability criteria. The alleged production incapacity of suppliers has not been officially confirmed, with the delay instead attributed to the complexity of the certification process, made even slower by the lack of historical precedents for fully CO₂-neutral fuels.
Despite this, the tolerance window has a clearly defined expiry. It appears that from the 2027 season the waiver will no longer be granted. Even so, it is highly likely that teams will already use blends very close to the final version during testing, in order to quickly identify real operational issues that, ultimately, no simulation can fully reproduce.
FIA waiver on sustainable fuel: issues in collecting reliability and power data
This type of decision leads to two key considerations. The first is a matter of fact: fuel producers are behind schedule. We are talking about Shell, Petronas, Aramco, Castrol and ExxonMobil. This news has largely gone unnoticed, but it could carry significant weight. Biofuels are extremely complex to synthesise and produce, not to mention the costs surrounding these fuels.
In light of this waiver, it can be said that at least one team in the paddock does not yet have immediate access to its own biofuels. This means that the team in question will face a major disadvantage until it starts using its sustainable fuel, as it will not be able to gather real data on the reliability and power of its power unit. There are many differences between conventional fuels and biofuels.
Fully sustainable fuels tend to have a different hydrocarbon chain compared to the fossil fuel used in recent years. They often burn more slowly or in a different way. In addition, biofuels have a much higher cooling capacity. As a result, using traditional fuels could still cause issues that will need to be managed within an already highly complex scenario.
Ferrari satisfied with Shell
There are several considerations to be made regarding the Italian team. The Maranello-based squad has a very close relationship with the Shell giant, and it can be stated that it is not the Prancing Horse that is responsible for this delay. According to what has emerged, it is very likely that the issue concerns Castrol, which, as we know, will supply fuel for Audi engines. They do not have the decades-long experience of Shell and Petronas in hybrid power units.
These two brands have been working extremely closely together for many seasons now, and it can be confirmed that the headaches linked to the International Federation’s waiver do not stem from these partnerships. At the start of the championship, as confirmed by Toto Wolff himself, fuel could be an element capable of making the difference, at least until a natural convergence is achieved over the course of the months.
There are, however, still several question marks surrounding these fuels and the adaptation issues that could emerge. According to information gathered by our editorial team, Ferrari are very satisfied with Shell’s work and are confident that, at least from this point of view, fuel will be able to deliver maximum performance when the championship begins. An element that could provide added competitiveness to the Ferrari SF-26.
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