New sustainable fuels, derived only from waste biomass or carbon dioxide, will be powering Formula 1 in 2026. And they will have to save 65% of greenhouse gas savings compared with fossil gasoline. F1 has always been at the forefront of vehicle technology, so it is no surprise that they are leading the way by introducing advanced sustainable fuels, as part of their commitment to achieving net zero by 2030. With Shell, Exxon, Petronas and BP partnering with different F1 teams, what differences might we see on the racetrack?
New hybrid energy systems are also being introduced for 2026, with 50% of the power being supplied by batteries. The fuels will be tailored to extract the best performance from these systems and meet the new power density rules. They must also be a drop-in solution, as F1 has always committed to being applicable in a real world situation.
For the past few years F1 has used E10, a blend of 10% bioethanol with conventional fossil gasoline. Now scientists have the freedom to design their own sustainable gasoline, within certain parameters. The old limit on fuel mass flow (100 kg/hour) has been replaced with a ceiling on fuel energy flow (3,000 MJ/hour). Using a higher energy density formulation means that vehicles can carry less fuel which will reduce weight and improve the performance. There will be a cap on energy density of 41.0 MJ/kg to ensure the relevance to real world performance is retained. But developers can pick and choose their molecules to maximise engine performance at the highest allowed energy density.
The compositions of the fuels are a closely guarded secret. Some general indications were given by F1’s Chief Technical Officer in an interview with Sky news in 2024. He said that they expected the fuels to contain 20% ethanol, with the remaining 80% comprising high energy density molecules from biogenic waste. Biogenic gasoline-type molecules are not generally available so they will have to be created specially. This means either building up C8 molecules from small ones, for example, biomethane, or breaking down the longer molecules in waste fats, for instance waste cooking oil. Then additional processing can further fine-tune the molecular composition to increase the octane number and hence the efficiency with which the fuel is burned in the engine.
Breaking down larger molecules can be done using mainstream refinery processes. In contrast, the technologies which build up molecules, for example Fischer-Tropsch, are more specialised. So, it is likely that the preferred route will start with a longer chain molecule, at least in the short term.
But what about sustainability? SRFAS (the Sustainable Racing Fuel Assurance Scheme) has been developed by the FIA in partnership with Zemo Partnership in the UK, to verify the provenance, composition, and greenhouse gas savings of the 2026 fuels. Audits will be carried out by Control Union or BM Certification. The waste biofuels industry is no stranger to scandals, with unscrupulous operators passing off deforestation-causing palm oil as waste oil. Let’s hope that F1 manages to steer clear of such wrongdoing.
Synthetic liquids made from recycled carbon dioxide, water and renewable electricity, must have pole position for sustainability, if only because the supply of biogenic waste is limited. These ‘e-fuels’ are under development and have been tested in aviation and motor sport. The company Zero Petroleum, founded by an F1 veteran has partnered with Stake F1® Team Kick Sauber. However, the high cost and lack of availability of e-fuels will remain a barrier to widespread uptake for the immediate future.
Published: 9 February 26
