NEOM takes center stage in Formula E as they take over naming rights to the soon to be ex-McLaren Formula E team and I have the details in this week’s Sustainable Motorsport Roundup. I also have details on why sustainability is central to McLaren’s motorsport mission to win, why ABB is excited about the NASCAR EV and racing a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.
Sustainable Motorsport News
Zak Brown explains in a Worth profile how McLaren’s sustainability agenda is core to its business strategy. From engineering the first Formula One car to use recycled carbon fiber to being one of the sport’s top buyers of sustainable aviation fuel, McLaren is positioning itself not just as a competitor—but as a climate leader. “Sustainability is a journey with no finish line,” Brown says. “But we want to be setting the pace.”
Read more here.
Speaking of McLaren, as they wind down their Formula E team, NEOM is taking over as Pitlane News explains . “The team formerly known as the NEOM McLaren Formula E squad will now race under the simplified banner of NEOM Formula E Team. The name change has sparked whispers of a full McLaren exit, but that’s not quite the truth. The real story is a little more strategic — and a lot more McLaren.”
While the NASCAR EV model checks all of the “social contract boxes”, it will remain a prototype for the foreseeable future, but that does not mean that sponsor ABB is any less excited about the technology.
“And the reason why this is so important is because the United States is at an inflection point with how we use energy today. The country needs to make huge decisions about how we create, generate, transmit, and distribute energy to keep our country safe and keep our country strong. And these are important decisions. ABB hopes that programs like the ABB-Formula E and ABB-NASCAR partnership help this country have better conversations about energy so we can make better decisions.”
This weekend sees the Scottish Rally Championship season burst into life in Elgin with the McDonald and Munro Speyside Stages, for what promises to be another season of intense competition. The event is working in partnership with Carbon Positive Motorsport by offering all competitors the opportunity to offset 200% of their competition-based carbon emissions generated during the event using a combination of a world class local carbon offsetting project based at Loch Ness and Carbon Reduction Units.
Find out more about the initiative here.
What do you do with a cutting-edge race car–zero to 60 in less than a second and a half–that no longer has a place to race? For Lance Smith, head of ARA’s RallyForward initiative, you use that rallycross special to grow the sport’s future. Lance’s Vermont SportsCar brought an FC1-X to the Pine Mountain HillClimb to run in an exhibition class. The car can reach 60 mph in 1.4 seconds, but Smith hopes to use it for more than just racing. Read more about their plans here.
Sustainable Motorsport Tech
In collaboration with Google Cloud, Formula E’s GENBETA prototype development race car descended 1,000 vertical metres down a French alpine road in ‘free-wheel mode’ and through regenerative braking alone amassed enough energy to complete a full lap of the legendary Circuit de Monaco.
Indian engineering conglomerate Mahindra might lend its name to a Formula E team, but behind the scenes, the Tech Mahindra arm of the business is using the team to develop technologies deployed into other areas, one of which is its Rubicon AI tool.
“When Mahindra Racing was looking at things to bring into the race team from an innovation standpoint, Tech Mahindra came up with this solution together with the Mahindra Racing team,” Roshan Shetty, BFSI and public sector head for Tech Mahindra in the Americas, tells RACER. “It looks at data from an analytics standpoint, leveraging the data to build a simulator tool that empowers Mahindra Racing with capabilities to anticipate future trends and optimize the race strategies to help the team’s performance.”
Sustainable Racing
GrassRoots Motorsports selected a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N for One Lap of America. Here are the details of why and what they experienced.
- Why we selected a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N for One Lap of America
- One Lap of America Day 0: Readying our Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
- One Lap of America Day 1: Skid pad, autocross with Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
- One Lap of America Day 2: First time on track | Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
- One Lap of America Day 3: A big, fast track | Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
- One Lap of America Day 4: Focusing on driving the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Series News
Formula 1 teams are bracing themselves for what one boss called a “ridiculous” escalation in fuel costs in 2026 – with fears a tenfold increase could raise prices to over $300 per litre of fuel. Although the price of fuel varies between manufacturers, it is understood that the current projections are for it to be between $170 – $225 per litre – which is a step up from the current price that is believed to be in the $22 – $33 range. The Race and Autosport Plus break it all down here and here.
Formula E is planning to race in Spain for the first time since 2021 with plans well advanced to host a race at Jarama next March and potentially Montjuïc Park in 2027. The Race has all the details.
Yet more positive impressions of the Formula E documentary “Driver” with Autosport arguing it deserves a second season. ““You need to be a little bit of a bastard to be the best,” is one of the first lines we hear from 2019-20 champion da Costa, showing that this series also has some grit, rather than being a glossy tip of the iceberg when it comes to getting behind the visor of Formula E’s top talent.” Watch the trailer above.
Like Scott McLaughlin, Rinus VeeKay, Kyle Kirkwood, Pato O’Ward, and Felix Rosenqvist, Alex Palou has his own spin on what to expect with the hybrid IndyCar engine at the demanding Brickyard, but it is clear that driver opinion is divided.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin: “We’ve been used to, the last year or so, deploying and doing different strategies, how you use the battery, then regen that battery, how that affects your car balance, trying to figure out what works for you. Not every driver is the same. But you know there’s a quick way of doing it. I’ve really enjoyed studying that and understanding that.”
Getting to the Track Sustainably
- 2025 Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid First Test: How Does 0–60 MPH in 2.6 Seconds Sound?! (MotorTrend)
- First Drive: The 2026 Lucid Gravity Kicks off a New Era for Luxurious Performance SUVs (duPont Registry)
- 2025 Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor First Test: The Luxury EV SUV You’ll Want to Keep Driving (MotorTrend)
- Why Lamborghini won’t build an electric hypercar (Torque Cafe)
- Mercedes-AMG Teases Its Porsche Taycan Rival (Inside EVs)
- First details of electric Ferrari to be revealed on 9 October (AutoCar)
- Equinox Charter Clients Offset Carbon with Reward Credits (AIN)
- This Supersonic Jet’s Sharkskin-Like Coating Helps Reduce Its Emissions (Robb Report)
- Neste starts SAF production at its Rotterdam refinery with an initial 500,000 tons annual capacity (GreenAir News)
- Tamarack Aerospace Launches Carbon Offset Option (AIN)
- Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways to partner on new Australian SAF production project (GreenAir News)
- Airbus resets hydrogen plans, flags new aircraft and announces multiple sustainability initiatives (GreenAir News)
- New Sustainable Aviation Fuel Initiative Targets APAC (AIN)
- Helicopter SAF Trials Show Reduced Soot Emissions (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.
