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Can synthetic fuels save racing as we know it? Probably, but their promise likely ends there

Related Topics: synthetic fuel

The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) has promised that every series it presides over, from karting to rallying to Formula One, will use 100% carbon-neutral fuel by 2026. With hardly any of motorsport's emissions coming directly from the race cars, though, that promise risks either greenwashing larger logistical problems or promoting fuel solutions that have little road relevance.

The first FIA karting events running on 100% sustainable fuel began in March, using a drop-in fuel from German supplier P1 racing fuels. P1, who already supply to the World Rally Championship and fuelled Sebastian Vettel's showruns in old F1 cars last year, make their fuel out of a blend of bio-ethanol and molecularly constructed synthetic fuel from captured carbon and green hydrogen.