Why does F1 lag behind in Formula Green?

The news that Honda could be poised to reveal its definitive RA107 in a livery featuring images of planet Earth and bearing the logos of environmentally-conscious brands shows that at least part of Formula One's heart is in the right place, but the sport as a whole still fails to exude a 'green' image.

With all the talk of 'carbon footprints' and 'carbon neutralising', anything that involves racking up the air miles in criss-crossing the globe - just for racing, let alone testing as has become the case in the last couple of seasons - can't really be considered environmentally-friendly but, at present, F1 even falls short of being seen to make an effort. While its governing body and team bosses argue about the merits of cost-cutting and freezing engine specifications, rival series are pushing ahead with steps to take their teams away from traditional fossil fuels.

FIA president Max Mosley's desire to see F1 become a little more 'green' has seen him put forward proposals to introduce systems that re-use waste heat and exhaust gases and recovery and re-use braking energies to provide additional power while making the cars more fuel efficient, but they are still only proposals and not yet in use. Meanwhile, the Indy Racing League and, more recently, American Le Mans Series, have already taken steps towards at least changing the fuel that powers their machines, the former switching to 100 per cent fuel grade ethanol for 2007.

While the irony of the USA - which continues to resist measures to cut global warming - leading the way in ethanol use in motorsport, it is not alone, with other individuals making attempts to move away from the 'old unleaded' in series around the world, so why doesn't F1 follow suit? There is the old argument that anything other than fossil fuels are going to make the spectacle slower, although fans in F1, as has been proven in the IRL, are hardly going to notice the difference as the high-speed projectiles hurtle past in a colourful blur. And then there are those who will point out that a Formula One engine is over 20 per cent more efficient at turning fuel into power than even the most economical small car, even if race fuel consumption is only around 4mpg.

The engine freeze regulations will remain in force until 2009, leading many to suggest that that would be an ideal time-frame in which the manufacturers involved could develop motors to run on bio-fuel. At present, F1 fuel differs from commercial fuel in its make-up, with fuel suppliers asked to provide a 'fingerprint' for comparison purposes through the year, but the manufacturers would have to rethink their powerplants should the move to bio-fuel be implemented.

The FIA clearly is not opposed to more environmentally-favourable fuels, however, its Alternative Energies Commission having recently voiced its support for the EEMS-backed hybrid rally car project based around a Honda Insight E85 built and run by British team by Oaktec.

Team partners Paul Andrews and Bill Meeson were naturally delighted with the positive response - and even the possibility of future co-operation - when they presented the project to the Commission in Paris. The result was also positive for the EEMS [Energy Efficient Motorsport] initiative which promotes the use of alternative fuels and the development of energy-efficient competition.

"We feel that we not only share common goals but we have a good possibility of co-operation in this field, which is certainly a part of the future of motorsport activity," Commission president Bruno Moretti said of the meeting with Oaktec, "We will be in touch about the FIA Alternative Energies Cup events, as well as discussing our own hybrid vehicle work."

For the record, the Insight has the lowest emissions of any production car, coming in at 85g/km, and that has been further improved by Oaktec's conversion to run on E85 bio-fuel blend. The changes appear to have had little impact on the car's potential, as the Oaktec entry won its class in the 2006 Formula 1000 Rally Series, whilst running against conventional non-hybrid petrol-fuelled cars.

Oaktec is now working with the International Automotive Research Centre at Warwick University to unlock the performance potential of renewable fuels and technologies, while Andrews has responded to the FIA's interest by furthering discussions about other energy savings, including the control of regenerative systems and energy storage ideas.

"With questions, the Commission spent over three times longer with us than scheduled," Andrews revealed, "We then continued over lunch and answered more questions about future development plans."

For further information on bio-ethanol and other environmentally-friendly projects, as well as about Energy Efficient Motorsport [EEMS], visit the official website by clicking here.