Joe Portlock – Method 1/Method Motorsport Restricted by way of Getty Pictures
The 2023 Method 1 season springs into life this weekend on the Bahrain Grand Prix, the primary race of the yr. Three days of preseason testing held final week counsel that Purple Bull Racing nonetheless has the automotive to beat, though there’s the tantalizing prospect of Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin having probably discovered a whole lot of pace within the low season.
However as we speak’s fascinating information really comes from the decrease formulae, F2 and F3, the place younger drivers minimize their tooth. Immediately, these sequence introduced that they’re transferring to sustainable fuels beginning this season.
As we have beforehand detailed, F1 is transferring to carbon-neutral gasoline in 2026, however as single-make formulae with a single gas provider (on this case Aramco), it is doable for F2 and F3 to attempt one thing even bolder.
“We have determined to advertise one thing a little bit bit extra excessive,” defined Didier Perrin, technical director for F2 and F3. “It is a bit simpler for us as a result of we’re a single-make championship; we are able to impose the kind of gas that we wish to all of the groups. So we have determined to focus on in 2027 to go not solely sustainable, however sustainable with carbon dioxide captured from the ambiance,” Perrin stated.
For this yr, F2 and F3 will race utilizing a mix with 55 p.c sustainable gasoline, that means the hydrogen has been generated by wind- or solar-powered electrolysis of hydrogen, with carbon from non-food vegetation or waste. For context, this yr there are 14 F2 races, 10 F3 races, and between them they’ll use about 80,000 gallons (300,000 L) of gas.
However from 2025 the 2 sequence will transfer to a mix containing 55 p.c gasoline made out of direct carbon seize from the air. And by 2027 each sequence will race completely on one hundred pc sustainable carbon-captured gasoline.
Direct carbon seize from the air is technically doable, however the gasoline makes up simply 0.04 p.c of the air we breathe, and so it is at present an costly course of—between $400-$800 per ton of carbon, in accordance with Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, Aramco’s CTO, which might translate to between $200-$300 per barrel of oil.
“However the prices are coming down dramatically, and what we noticed in wind and photo voltaic is, as soon as it is deployed, expertise has a studying curve, and we anticipate these prices to return all the way down to way more cheap and sensible prices,” Al-Khowaiter stated. Aramco at present has two artificial gas pilot vegetation below building: one in Spain along side Repsol that is centered on aviation fuels; and one other in Saudi Arabia that would be the essential supply of F2 and F3’s gasoline.
