Formula 1’s goal for a sustainable future is pretty well-known at this point. F1 has a mission in place for racing to be carbon-neutral by the end of 2030. However, according to several stakeholders within and around the world of F1, strongly believe that despite public statements, F1 is moving in the opposite direction.

Yes, they may be looking into sustainable fuel, yes they are increasing the use of electricity instead of burning fossil fuels, and yes, other measures like tire warmers are being looked at closely to monitor the impact that they have. But it may not be necessarily enough, as a significant carbon footprint is generated in other places altogether.

Formula 1’s ‘hypocrisy’ called out:

The logistics side of things generates the vast majority of the carbon footprint. Shipping the cars to different countries during different weekends, flying the whole paddock in, the drivers, mechanics, engineers, and catering staff, among other things, contribute to a major portion of the carbon footprint generated.

Speaking about this to former Ferrari boss Peter Windsor, F1 photographer Darren Heath calls out the hypocrisy of Formula 1. “ (My biggest problem) really is the hypocrisy. I have a problem with sports such as Formula One, which obviously burns a lot of carbon. They’re trying to do certain things to lower the levels of carbon footprint, which I’m all onside with.”

However, this is not enough, and this is not where the majority of the carbon footprint is coming from. “But when the teams and their cohorts of the great armada of people that flights all round the world, the trucks, the catering staff, the mechanics the team engineers, the team bosses, not to mention the drivers, and the press of course. When we all fly around the world, there’s more carbon footprint,” Heath comments.

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In most people’s opinions, this is more damaging than those largely fuel-inefficient cars burning fuel on race weekends. And, to further complicate things, the sport is starting to expand massively as well to new countries, adding more and more races to the race calendar.

F1’s calendar is part of the problem

There has been a massive increase in the number of races over the last decade. F1 has expanded out to the middle east, and starting to grow in popularity in the Americas as well. As a result, we are now seeing 22-24 race season, instead of the 16-18 from the yesteryears. Naturally, this will lead to more carbon footprint being generated as a result of not only the travel but also the fuel that’s burnt during the race weekends as well.

Heath continues, “This year, we had 22 races. next year 24 races are scheduled. I think the calendar is way way too many (races). I think the sweet spot for me is around 18. I think that’s a pretty good number of races.” Heath clarifies that he thinks races in the Far East and the Middle East are a good idea, and thinks that the races should be less “European-centric.”

Apart from the carbon footprint, Heath opines that there’s the factor of burnout involved as well when we are witnessing a 24-race calendar. “24 races – there’s real burnout within the sport.”

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Despite this criticism, the number of people within the sport, like Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, who constantly push the sport to do better is increasing. Hopefully going forward, we see F1 reduce its carbon footprint.