Why F1 needs an urgent plan from some of its most influential sponsors

“Climate change is a serious risk to humanity’s future and restoring the world to a better carbon balance requires us to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with both oil and gas production and use.”

The latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, published the day after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, makes for familiar reading. That is, of course, if you believe data presented by the IPCC, the organisation comprising 195 member states. 

If you remain sceptical, and many are, it’s worth re-reading the above quote. It comes not from the IPCC, but from His Excellency Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, chairman of Saudi energy giant Aramco, sponsor of F1 and Aston Martin. 

It came in his foreword to Aramco’s first event Sustainability Report, a 100-page document outlining how the country sitting astride the world’s second largest oil reserves plans to address global warming. It’s quite an acknowledgement considering that, just a week before the IPCC report was published, Aramco announced record-breaking profits of £134bn for 2022.

Aramco has made a lot of money in the midst of Russia’s war-induced energy crisis, helping to fill the gap caused by Europe switching off Putin’s pipelines. Furthermore, Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP and Petronas have all posted record profits which, when combined, match Aramco’s figure. 

For Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, Alpine and Mercedes these are important sponsors. It underlines the symbiotic relationship which has always existed between producers of fossil fuels, the automotive industry and motor racing.

The latest UN report received widespread headlines, confirming global warming has reached 1.1℃ above pre-industrial levels, is continuing to rise at an alarming rate and will hit 1.5℃ during the 2030s. Extreme weather events and melting ice caps will simply accelerate.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

However, in a departure from the traditional doom-mongering for which climate scientists are often criticised, the report makes it clear that, “there are multiple, feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change, and they are available now.”

Formula 1, with its commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030, recognises that. Its target is based on the rapid adoption of environmentally sustainable technologies and practices. The FIA and the teams appear united in their quest for environmental salvation.

How that squares with a continued reliance on sponsorship from the fossil-fuel sector is a question which is going to be asked with increased regularity. 

There is no doubt the advent of synthetic fuels in 2026 will be trumpeted as a major breakthrough but, if the 20 cars racing on sustainable energy are used as billboards by oil companies to greenwash their reputation, it’s unlikely to save F1 from its critics. Whether they be campaign groups such as Stop The Oil, society at large or other sponsors eager to distance themselves from the fossil fuel sector.

Aramco has made a lot of money in the midst of Russia’s war-induced energy crisis, helping to fill the gap caused by Europe switching off Putin’s pipelines

It is possible one answer will come from the energy companies themselves. Each
of them maintains that profits today
enable investment in renewable energy
and sustainable technology solutions
for tomorrow.

Aramco, for example, has allocated a £1.2bn sustainability fund “to encourage investment in technology needed to support…energy transition”. Meanwhile BP, having previously announced a 35-40% reduction in emissions by 2030, has admitted it won’t meet that target.

Given their front-line role in creating the problem which now confronts us, how these companies address the challenge of climate change is something the world, including a Formula 1, is keen to see. We don’t have long to wait.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23

Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images