Formula 1 is renowned for its blisteringly fast pace,
top speeds reaching 210 mph and acceleration giving a 0-60 in about 1.7 seconds. To give the raw power needed to accomplish this it’s quite apparent that you’ll need a big engine and lots of fuel. Well, all that is about to change as the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) are planning to reduce the size of Formula 1 engines to reduce carbon emissions by 15%, but don’t fear too much as they are also going ahead with bringing back the much beloved turbo-charger. Rules and regulations change every year but this seems to be a first to change with going green in-mind. The current engine size of Formula 1 cars is 2.4 litres, FOTA are planning to reduce that down to 1.5. Another thing that the FIA and engine manufacturers might do is to reduce the amount of fuel that the cars use. All this has come from an external audit from Trucost, who have analysed the teams in Formula 1. The running of the cars themselves in races and in testing accounts for merely 1% of the emissions in the sport. The big part is the logistics involved with moving the cars around the world to different locations, as well as huge electricity usage from testing in wind tunnels.
So why target the cars that produce so little of the emissions?
Even though the cars themselves aren’t majorly responsible for all the emissions in Formula 1 there is still room for improvement. Every little counts and in this case the drive to reduce emissions by 15% by 2012 is quite welcomed by me. The power output of the car may be slightly reduced but if it leads to the saving of our little blue planet by even just a little bit then I’m all for it. That's the great thing about Team-Sport, since all of our tracks have their own cars we don't need to move them around the country increasing our carbon footprint. So get on down to your local Team-Sport track but don't forget to carpool to save on fuel.