An F1 Constructors’ Circularity Handbook has been released, and all teams and the FIA will be looking to apply its lessons to F1 as part of F1’s Net Zero 2030 commitment. I also look at technology transfer from Nissan’s Formula E team to their road vehicles, the role F1 fans play in sustainability and Mission H24’s collaboration with Bosch Motorsport. All this and more in this week’s Sustainable Motorsport Roundup.
Sustainable Motorsport News
All 10 F1 teams will receive an ‘F1 Constructors’ Circularity Handbook‘, produced by McLaren, Deloitte, and the FIA to improve sustainability processes – with a view to potential rule changes in future.
“The handbook contains a guide for how teams can measure ‘circularity’, in other words, the impact of a product on the current global ecosystem and its potential to be recycled or reused in another capacity rather than simply consigned to waste. Teams will then be able to collect that data for their internal processes and manufacturing, and feed their numbers back to the FIA.”
Autosport has more details here. McLaren has more details here.
The Nissan Formula E Team has explained how Nissan Research & Development played a key role in the Japanese outfit’s “stunning” start to Season 11. Nissan Formula E Team’s Managing Director and Team Principal, Tommaso Volpe, states that the “transfer of expertise that the Chief Powertrain Engineer brings from the automotive side of the business to the competitive side of it in our Formula E Team is vital. It shows the importance of the entire Nissan workforce worldwide in helping us to achieve these results on-track.” You can read more about this here.
Maja Czarzasty-Zybert looks at how F1 fans can help drive F1’s green transformation. “Their travel, consumption, and daily choices significantly impact the sport’s carbon footprint.” Read more about what they can do here.
Since Maserati MSG Racing driver Stoffel Vandoorne joined the ABB FIA Formula E Championship eight years ago, he has become a proponent of electric vehicles and today actively encourages the public to switch from piston-driven, gasoline-powered engines.
“The most impressive thing is seeing how much the world actually has evolved towards electric cars,” Vandoorne said as the global all-electric open-wheel racing series prepares to make its lone U.S. visit April 10-12 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Read more about what he and teammate Jake Hughes have to say about EVs here.
Sustainable Motorsport Tech
The collaboration between the ACO and the H24Project for emission-free competitions is significantly strengthened by the latest partnership with Bosch Motorsport, a major player in the motorsport industry. As part of Bosch Engineering GmbH, an engineering partner of the automotive industry for more than 25 years, Bosch Motorsport supports some of the most important racing series in the world as a partner and technology supplier.
For the project, Bosch Motorsport is developing the Liquid Hydrogen Storage Control Unit (L-HSCU). This unit is specifically designed for the liquid storage of hydrogen in race cars, playing a crucial role in the integration of hydrogen technology in motorsport. The L-HSCU manages the liquid hydrogen storage in real-time to ensure optimal operating conditions. It monitors and controls all the sensors and actuators that continuously provide data on the state of the storage system. The control unit also communicates with both onboard and offboard refueling systems, ensuring an efficient and safe refueling process, crucial for racing operations. The L-HSCU will provide the highest level of safety for operation in the Motorsport environment, in accordance with the applicable FIA regulations.
Series News
Olivia Hicks explains in Formula Flash how not talking about climate change could be F1’s key to sustainability success.
“The newly released document failed to detail how Formula 1 plans to engage fans in environmental education initiatives. However, that might not be such a bad thing. Unlike Formula E or Extreme E (now Extreme H) with built-in sustainability missions, racing series like Formula 1, IndyCar and NASCAR face an obstacle familiar to most industries: changing public opinion. And while electric racing competitions may be able to easily shout about rising sea levels, it could be in Formula 1’s best interest to keep its sustainability language strategic.”
As Formula E prepares to race in Miami, here are two articles from both Autoweek and Autosport looking at what the series has been up to since its last race.
- EV Quick-Charge Pit Stops Take Formula E Open-Wheel Racing to Next Level (Autoweek)
- Formula E to showcase further community, inclusivity and sustainability initiatives at Miami E-Prix
PMW looks at how the World Rally Championship lost its hybrids and what that means for 2025. “For Toyota and the other teams, the removal of the hybrid necessitated a reassessment of its engine tuning.”
French F4 is using new sustainable tires this year and one of the questions during the series test at Le Mans was how the teams would cope according to Feeder Series.
“One of the main talking points of the pre-season tests was the new “sustainable” tyres introduced by Pirelli this season. The increase in the race lengths from 20 to 30 minutes means tyre management is set to be even more crucial. Despite the longer races, drivers are still allocated only two sets of new tyres per weekend, one of which must necessarily be used in free practice, so some drivers were considering skipping practice to save tyres for the rest of the weekend.”
Getting to the Track Sustainably
- This New Hydrogen-Powered Business Jet Just Got an Extreme Makeover (Robb Report)
- Signature Aviation To Add More European SAF Locations (AIN)
- Hypersonic Flights Could Soon Change How We Travel (Robb Report)
- Sea Cheetah Corporation and HYSKY Society form alliance (HYSKY)
- Farnborough Airport Ups Its SAF Game (AIN)
- Airbus Reveals Details About Its Future Single-Aisle Plane (Simple Flying)
- Polestar 3 Review: A Stylish But Frustrating Electric SUV (The Gentleman Racer)
- New BYD EV platform “matches speed of refuelling combustion engines” (Transport and Energy)
- EV battery recycling breakthrough recovers 99.99% of lithium (Green Car Reports)
- Chinese EV makers are having a moment (Quartz)
- This New 1,297 HP All-Electric Sedan Is as Fast as a Supercar (Robb Report)
- Damon Accelerates Development of HyperSport Race Electric Motorcycle with Renowned Italian Engineering Firm – Engines Engineering (Newswire)
- Tested: 2025 Audi RS E-Tron GT Performance (Road & Track)
- Fresh competition for Eurostar on high-speed London-Europe trains (Executive Traveler)
- Survey Finds eVTOL Air Taxi Passengers Demand Fancy Cabin Interiors (AIN)
- Daher Aims To Launch ‘More Electric’ Airplane in 2027 (AIN)
- Unither Achieves First Hydrogen-powered Helicopter Flight (AIN)
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.
