On this week’s Sustainable Motorsport Round-Up I look at sustainable motorsport news in Formula 1, the World Rally Championship, Extreme E, Indycar and more. I also have another edition of Getting to the Track Sustainably with news on some upcoming guides that will help you in your sustainable travel plans.
As always, if you have any news you feel should be included in the Sustainable Motorsport Round-Up, please do not hesitate to contact me.
The Big Picture
- The Sustainable Finance Initiative has announced a member event “Formula 1 and Formula E: The Green Angle” on Feb. 16th featuring racer and motorsport entrepreneur Dan Wells. Dan will share his considerable industry insight. From the SFI website:
- “The environmental impact of Formula 1 has been high up on the agenda for Liberty Media, the owners of Formula One Group. It is not a well known fact that the F1 cars themselves on track only produce about 0.7% of the sport’s emissions, and the rest is made up from the necessary resources for the 10 teams to develop, produce, and run the cars at 20+ events worldwide throughout the year. Formula One is at the cutting edge of technology, and in 2022 the cars will move to being powered by E10 fuel – 90% fossil fuels and 10% ethanol, and with the long term plan to create a 100% sustainable fuel. They are already utilising the regenerative energy from the braking systems into the MGU-K. Indeed F1 power units have a thermal efficiency of over 50%, and with the Formula One engineers and technicians always at the pinnacle of technology – this will only improve in the coming years.”
- Koenigsegg’s has announced that their new EV Power Pack “Terrier” offers 670 HP and weighs less than 200 pounds.
- ‘We Don’t Want to Be the Horses of Tomorrow’: Lamborghini’s CEO on the marque’s first NFT and first EV.
- For this weekend’s NASCAR LA Coliseum Clash, Team Penske will use the fully electric Freightliner eCascadia to get the No. 2 racing car of Austin Cindric from Penske Truck and Leasing in Ontario to the Coliseum for the Clash. Penske is spotlighting electric vehicles and Freightliner’s eCascadia will be the first electric trailer at a race in NASCAR history.
- As so many motorsport companies are located in the UK’s Motorsport Valley, the British government has announced that UK companies making misleading environmental claims on goods and services are now subject to legal sanctions.
Motorsport Series News
World Rally Championship
- As the World Rally Championship kicked off their new hybrid Rally1 era last week in Monaco with a scintillating race, Professional Motorsport World looks at the five key points on Rally1 development after Monte Carlo.
- Despite the fact that the Rally1 era has just started, Autosport reports that the FIA is already pushing the WRC to start considering their next set of regulations.
Formula 1
- RaceFans looks at the history of sustainability in Formula 1 and asks the question: Is motorsport leading or lagging as carmakers race to embrace green technologies?
- With Formula 1 moves to the new E10 fuel in 2022, Mercedes elaborates on how the 2022 F1 fuel has become the biggest change in the hybrid era.
- As Porsche continues to evaluate F1, they have indicated that their presence in Formula E could end if a Formula 1 program is pursued. “It’s not a secret that we are thinking about [F1] and that the factors for Porsche to join F1, namely an increased push for greater electrification to elements of the powertrain, are coming true.”
Extreme E
- Extreme E has secured a contract extension with AFC Energy to power their race cars for its second season. As part of the renewed agreement, Extreme E will continue to use the company’s zero-emission cell and hydrogen power generation technology. The system uses hydrogen (produced from water and sun) to generate power which is then used across all the vehicles competing in Extreme E.
- Green Racing News details all the brands and organizations returning to the second season of the Extreme E series.
TCR
- TCR has wrapped up their hybrid system testing. The Mild Hybrid System, as it’s been termed, aims to deliver between 20 and 30 KWs by recovering energy during the braking and deceleration phases.
Indycar
- Marshall Pruett at Racer.com looks into Indycar’s hybrid plans in his insightful column IndyCar’s 2023 hybrid plan brings unique challenges, fascinating solutions.
FIM E-Xplorer
- Green Racing News looks at the manufacturers confirmed so far that are taking place in the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup.
Getting to the Track Sustainably
Getting to the Track Sustainably is my occasional feature on developments in sustainable transport related in some way to motorsport. Since logistics are such a critical part of global motorsport, and the fact remains that they represent the vast majority of emissions for the sport as a whole, I link to various developments in sustainable aviation, shipping and trucking that will give you a high-level overview of what is happening in these sectors.
Also, as part of Getting to the Track Sustainably, look for some upcoming guides on Motorsport Prospects that will give race drivers and teams some tips and resources on helping to reduce your environmental impact as much as possible.
Sustainable Trucking and Charging
Sustainable Aviation
That is it for this week’s Sustainable Motorsport Round-Up. Have a great weekend and stay safe everyone!
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former 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.
