The hugely popular spectator sport which has been the mainstay of companies that dominated the ICE era of vehicles—Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Renault and Ford—is now facing sweeping transformation. F1 regulations which have been historically set in stone are starting to loosen up. Their new power unit regulations, chalked out to make it easy for newcomers to join, were published a few weeks ago. They allow for hybridised power units that drive the speeding cars on the track to keep ICE architecture but with sustainable fuels and more electrical power by 2026. All of these rules have been integral for Audi joining F1.
It's no secret that historically F1 racing has been a massive emitter of carbon, with dozens of large-engine cars burning more than 200 litres of fuel per race on average, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A report released by F1 itself a couple years ago projected that each F1 racing season generated over 256,000 tons of carbon emissions, both direct and indirect. That’s more than what is produced by 50,000 cars annually.
While the sport has consistently been under pressure from environmentalists, it was only when F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton spoke up publicly about the environment in 2019 that the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, the governing body of motorsport) took note and made announcements to take stock of the situation, and set standards to address sustainability.
But while getting F1 racing to go purely electric right away would seem an obvious silver bullet, the reality is complex. The present EV battery technology isn’t advanced enough yet to deliver the kind of range needed without charging breaks. A typical F1 race lasts around 300-plus kilometres at high energy-consuming speeds. The operative word, of course, is 'yet' because batteries are already getting lighter, being able to store more energy.
Meanwhile, governments across the world are clamping down harder on gas-guzzling cars which means that F1 will have to brake hard sooner or later on their fuel of choice. That's like continuing bull-fighting in a city that is ordained to be vegan. The other factor is that the average age of the F1 fan is now 32 years, down from 37 in 2017, making F1 consumption driven by a digital-first preference, which is great for eyeballs and clicks. However, younger viewers are also predisposed to being environmentally conscious and driven by ESG frameworks.
Back to Audi, which already has test benches for electric motor and battery testing in their base at Neuburg and their ongoing R&D to make better F1 engines which are hybrid. That know-how will also help make their current mass-production EV engines even more sophisticated down the line.
Just like defence and entertainment, developing technologies in F1 business too have been spilling over into the commercial market. Examples include ABS braking, paddle-shift gears (now common-place), lightweighting and airbags. The most important one in recent times has been electric power from regenerative braking, which draws power from heat and braking but not a chargeable battery in the conventional EV sense. That is already being used by BEV, battery-electric vehicles, such as the newest Honda City here in India.
Global automakers will continue to look towards motorsport platforms to engage and accelerate the development of new technology. The intense pressure on F1 has been creating the most efficient, clean and powerful hybrid electric drivetrains in the world even though they use synthetic fuel. That may not be enough.
World Champion F1 driver Nico Rosberg said earlier this year that F1 may simply have to go electric if it is to comply with future regulations. Other world champions made more radical statements. Grand Prix champ Sebastien Vettel wore a T-shirt that said the Miami Grand Prix would be underwater if changes weren’t made soon.
F1’s new engines aim to be 100 per cent sustainable and carbon-neutral by 2025 and are already the most efficient on the planet. If and when their technology starts to include EV systems along with existing hybrid power technology, there’s every reason why it will trigger a broader race for the next generation of engines that may be all electric, or battery-electric hybrid but with the same objective.
The race on the track is among drivers and teams, but the entry of Audi will trigger a race to create better faster and cleaner engines with alternative power sources which will eventually spill over to production in the mainstream. If F1 in the past led to commercial evolution focused on safety and performance, then here on it will have one overarching influence: Co2 neutrality and cleaner engines driven by alternate power sources.
