The FIA announced on Tuesday that it will take the next step in sustainability. The governing body had previously mandated that all Formula 1 teams use ‘one hundred percent sustainable fuels’ from the 2026 season onwards. The FIA now hopes to ensure that the racing teams will indeed do so with a new certification program.
The FIA announced as early as 2020 that it would introduce sustainable fuels in the premier class. The regulator is now well on its way to achieving that goal for the 2026 season. The governing body requires all Formula 1 teams to use only ‘one hundred percent sustainable fuel from Advanced Sustainable Components‘ from then on. These components must come from non-food-related biomass, renewable non-biological resources, or municipal waste.
To ensure that the fuel indeed meets these requirements, the FIA is introducing a certification program. Together with the Zemo Partnership, the governing body is setting up the Sustainable Racing Fuel Assurance Scheme (SRFAS). With this plan, the FIA hopes to guarantee that the composition of the Formula 1 fuels meets the strict criteria. The governing body will not only look at the origin of all components but also measure and check the amount of emissions. Only if the fuel meets all the strict requirements will it be certified by the FIA.
Next Step
“Alternative fuels are the next step (for the FIA) and today we are bringing a significant part of our sustainability vision to life with the availability of an FIA-certified sustainable fuel,” FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem explains in the official press release. “These innovations on the track continue to contribute to changes on the road that affect each of us in our daily lives.
