Formula 1 car racing is currently considered to be enjoying a boom in popularity, especially in the Asian region after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Envision Racing Formula E team boss Sylvain Filipi is confident that electric car racing will be the main focus and sponsors in the future.
Speaking at the Reuters IMPACT conference in London, Tuesday, October 4, 2022, Filippi said auto racing based on internal combustion engines such as F1 would struggle to debate relevance as electric car ownership increases.
The European Commission wants a 100 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars by 2035, making it impossible to sell combustion engine cars from then on. The UK has said it will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
Meanwhile, the power unit of Formula 1 cars from 2026 will be a 1.6-liter V6 engine with a much larger electric element and using 100 percent sustainable fuel. “It’s going to be very difficult to live with a roadmap that’s completely out of sync with what’s on the road,” Filippi told Reuters.
“Are you road-relevant or not? You can’t really be in between post 2030. There’s still a bit of time but it will pass quickly.”
“All the money (and sponsorship) is going to go into Formula E electric car racing because that’s the only thing that’s acceptable, a lot of brands won’t be able to sponsor the sport of internal combustion.”
For now, F1’s marketing appeal and viewing figures are much stronger, with a glamorous new race in the United States, could attract new sponsors and fan interest.
