In its aim to make the sport more sustainable, Formula 1 will switch from E5 petrol to E10 this season. That is, petrol that now contains twice as much bioethanol instead of 5 percent.
Bioethanol is an alcohol that is sustainably produced from biomass, such as corn, wheat, sugar beet and rye. Its combustion emits an average of more than 100,000 emissions 60 percent less CO2 compared to gasoline.
The switch from E5 to E10 seems like a footnote in the biggest rule change ever in Formula 1, yet Mercedes called it “the biggest change since 2014”.
That's because the fuel is formulated differently for each team, specifically developed according to the needs of their engine. For example, Mercedes works with Petronas, Ferrari with Shell and Red Bull and AlphaTauri with ExxonMobil (better known here as Esso).
An F1 car can race perfectly on the fuel we fill up every day, but the performance is not optimal. They have already tested this: with regular fuel the F1 cars were approximately 0,9 seconds slower per lap.
Compare it to the difference between a ready-made suit and a custom suit. By tailoring the chemical composition of their fuel specifically to their engine, the teams get the most out of their power source.
What about the sustainable future?
F1 cars already use fuel extremely efficiently. While in a passenger car approximately 30 percent of the energy is converted into power, in F1 cars this is more than 50 percent.
Yet the sport does not remain deaf to the call for a greener sport. The FIA, the international automotive federation, even wants to play a pioneering role with Formula 1.
Formula 1 wants to run on 2026 percent sustainable biofuel by 100. This must also be a “drop-in fuel”, i.e. a fuel that can also be refueled in a passenger car without any adjustments.
From 2030, F1 aims to be completely CO2 neutral. Of course, the F1 cars will still emit CO2. “But we no longer produce CO2,” explains FIA chief engineer Pat Symonds. “We take it out of the atmosphere, use it and then emit it again.”
Source: Spouse
