Toyota Prepares to Race Hydrogen at Le Mans in 2028

Toyota is preparing to race hydrogen at Le Mans in 2028 and this week I have a look on how they will go about it. I also have details on Mercedes F1’s latest sustainability report, a new partner for MissionH24 and the exciting future of synthetic fuels in motorsport and beyond. All this and much more in this week’s edition of the Sustainable Motorsport Roundup on Motorsport Prospects. Your source for sustainable high performance motorsport news.

Sustainable Motorsport News

2023 Toyota GR HY Concept

Some major hydrogen news as the ACO has explained how the hydrogen class will be incorporated into the 24 Hours of Le Mans and WEC in 2028. The hydrogen class will not run the full season with potentially being raced in only 3 races but crucially with Le Mans being one of them.

Toyota in turn explained how, with the extension of the LMH homologation period by two years, they will be running their hydrogen prototype alongside their traditional internal combustion engine car.

“It depends on what the regulations allow us,” Toyota Motorsports’ project leader John Litjens explained when asked about the end game for the GR010 HYBRID in the wake of the two-year regulation extension. “Initially we planned to start the hydrogen car, and with the ACO the target is to do the first season with a couple of races, so not a full season yet. So in the end we will run them in parallel and with that we can for sure adjust depending on how the development will go with the hydrogen car.”

With Renault looking increasingly likely to drop their Renault works F1 engine for a Mercedes customer deal in 2026, don’t think that their engine department in Viry-Chatillon facility in France will lack for work according to Autosport.

“There is believed to be a clear desire to push senior engineers and other staff at the French facility on to areas of new technology that will futureproof the Renault organization. This could include development of hydrogen power, alongside further battery technology work.”

Sustainable Motorsport Logistics

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team has published its latest sustainability report, marking a 10% reduction in market-based Race Team Control emissions as well as a decline in its business travel footprint.

Toto Wolff: “Yes, we report on our results – our footprint; our demographics; our codes and policies but it’s much more than that – it’s about our people; their collective power and our impact on the world within and beyond motorsport.”

Here are two reports analyzing the results:

The Nicky Grist Stages reached new heights by offsetting 46,000kg CO2e from this year’s event. The Nicky Grist Stages teamed up with Carbon Positive Motorsport to help mitigate the event’s unavoidable carbon emissions and supports the planting of over 1,500 sequioa and 6,000 native broadleaf trees in Abergavenny.

Sustainable Motorsport Roundup

If you think sustainable motorsport is a recent development, think again. The 2004 Nasamax-Judd V10 LMP1 was the first racer ever to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours running on 100% renewable fuel. Motorsport Magazine has the full story.

Sustainable Motorsport Tech

Toyota Prepares to Race Hydrogen at Le Mans in 2028

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest and McLaren Applied have announced a new partnership that will see the British firm supply control electronics, tire pressure monitoring systems and software for its H24EVO hydrogen racing prototype.

“Our VCU-500 analysis package, tire pressure system and ATLAS GT will provide MissionH24 with the latest control systems and analysis tools to optimize the performance of the H24EVO,” said Sam Guest, head of telemetry, control and analysis at McLaren Applied.

ACO president Pierre Fillon added: “Our program dedicated to the deployment of hydrogen in Endurance racing requires partners determined to prove the performance and environmental value of this energy in motor racing. McLaren Applied joins this team of companies committed to our side since 2018, when MissionH24 was officially launched, and it’s a source of great satisfaction. With H24EVO, we are entering a crucial new phase for hydrogen in racing.”

Zero Petroleum

Paddy Lowe made his name winning championships in Formula 1, and now the Zero Petroleum founder has a new mission that he hopes will one day transform motorsport. He explains his motivation and how he believes synthetic fuel is pushing boundaries in an opinion piece in Autosport.

“The performance of Zero fuel is better when compared to fossil fuels. Our fuel is known as 100% drop-in, a complete replica of fossil fuel from the necessary chemistry. But what it doesn’t have is the unnecessary chemistry; things like sulphur and other contaminants that exist in fossil fuels. It’s a very pure fuel and burns more cleanly.”

Series News

FG Series

The new FG Series will work closely with the DTM through an exciting new collaboration that will support the next generation of motorsport.

The goal of the cooperation is to promote the development of motorsport in a sustainable and forward-thinking manner, and to offer talented young drivers comprehensive support throughout the process.

FG Series, of which former Formula 1 and Formula E driver Nick Heidfeld is a co-founder, has set itself the task of reducing the financial obstacles standing in the way of those wishing to get involved in motorsport, and to make the sport more accessible and raise its profile around the world.

The groundbreaking concept, which includes using one car for two championships (FG1 and FG2) forms a bridge between karting and professional racing series. The dual power concept, which includes two different performance levels, and two different drive types (rear and four-wheel drive) allows FG Series to offer drivers comprehensive training for all the challenges they may face in the world of motorsport.

FG Series and DTM launch innovative collaboration to support the next generation of motorsport
Bernoulli's principle

While the debate has started on whether Formula E’s most recent season has lived up to expectations, Lucas Di Grassi believes that Formula E should look to Formula 1’s move to active aerodynamics and incorporate them into its Gen4 race car.

“We’ve already seen Formula E’s exciting plans for the Gen3 Evo, coming next year with four-wheel drive, and know that Gen4’s chassis tender calls for two different aerodynamic specifications in the form of interchangeable high and low-downforce bodykits. I believe the championship should seriously consider taking a full step, not a half step, and use the opportunity of a clean sheet design to introduce a massive moveable aerodynamic surface that creates the maximum amount of downforce in a corner and the lowest amount of drag for the straights. These are the ingredients for the optimal racing car and would also extend the battery life to make a win-win for all concerned.”

Toyota Prepares to Race Hydrogen at Le Mans in 2028

The planned STCC event on the streets of Helsingborg has been put back to 2025, and will be replaced with an additional round at Knutstorp. Helsingborg was due to host the fifth meeting of the campaign but the event will no longer take place this year, with round five instead being run as part of a bumper weekend of competition at Knutstorp in September featuring no fewer than four STCC races over two days.

“We are now gearing up together with Ring Knutstorp for an event where the audience will get to see twice as many races,” STCC CEO Micke Berne said. “We would like to thank the organisations at Ring Knutstorp and Helsingborg for making this solution possible. Unfortunately, we did not find a working solution in terms of planning and setup for this year’s race in Helsingborg, but we are happy to have continued strong co-operation with them for 2025 and 2026.”

Extreme H

Extreme H will be an “an evolution rather than a revolution,” according to the series’ managing director Ali Russell. “I like to see this as an evolution rather than a revolution,” Russell told RACER. “We’re not ripping [up] what we’ve got here — this is a really good platform. The teams, the drivers, the locations, the partners, we’ve got an absolutely first-class series here and I think what we’re doing is moving into a parallel mobility solution and I think that allows us to be first.”

Autosport looks at how the machinery has evolved and why the similar-looking cars built by Spark Racing Technology are indeed very different and how the series is pushing the boundaries of hydrogen in motorsport. “We decided to pull together something that we called the Hydrogen Hub,” reveals Extreme H technical director Mark Grain. “It’s a forum where we’ve invited other forms of motorsport – representatives from different championships, OEMs and so on, and of course the FIA, and representatives from our competing teams. The idea is that we’re right in the vanguard of hydrogen racing and we’d like to share our experiences, and hopefully in the future shortcut any of the processes and give them a helping hand down the road.”

Getting to the Track Sustainably

Sustainable Motorsport Roundup
Sustainable Motorsport Roundup
Mark Boudreau
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.