With Audi and Honda swelling F1’s ranks by committing to the sustainably fuelled turbo hybrid regulations from 2026, the significance of what is happening goes well beyond the spectacle of having six car makers going up against each other on track.
“Obviously when they [Honda] withdrew, it was because of electrification. And I think perhaps with sustainable fuels and zero emissions, plus the route that Formula 1 is going for 2026, combustion became relevant to them again.”After many years where governments led car-makers and the public down a path where an all-electric future was being mandated, the landscape has been shifting over recent months.
Just recently the G7 gathering in Japan made clear the future it saw for road cars, and it was of them being electrified, not just electric, and including the use of fuels. But there seems to be a more sensible approach opening up to policy and a growing reality that the combustion engine has a future – especially if it can be powered by carbon neutral fuel.Even Honda itself, which announced three years ago it was quitting F1 because of its shift to electric vehicles, says it is now open-minded about the future direction of road cars – even if its own plans have not yet been changed.
“And it's basically something that will not help you achieve the bigger target that everyone wants to achieve.”F1 has long talked about its belief of a future where there are both electric and sustainably-fuelled combustion engines on the roads – with no place for fossil fuels.But how far F1 pushes forward its hybrid technology and the development of sustainable fuels – both from an energy-input required and cost basis – will be critical to defining this.
“If you think about the number of cars, commercial vehicles, trucks, ships and planes there are, there is a demand of energy that means it is not possible to go in just one direction. “Unless we lead, it will fail,” he told Autosport. “I would like to see the FIA as a hub for certifying fuel because, as the governing body for motor sport in the world, we are neutral, we are fair and we are trusted.
Asked if he could see a long-term future for the combustion engine, Ben Sulayem said: “Yes, I can. But there is a challenge we all have to work towards.