Zero Petroleum becomes a sponsor of Stake Sauber for the next two years. Paddy Lowe, former executive director of Mercedes and, previously, technical director of McLaren, returns to the Circus that he left in 2019 after ending his experience at Williams.
Paddy is the founder and CEO of the zero-carbon synthetic fuels company, which 1996 world champion Damon Hill also invested in.
The operation, for the moment, is purely promotional to make e-fuel known to the public who watch F1. The C44 is powered by Shell fuels and lubricants, but Sauber is free to enter into sponsorship agreements with other companies in the sector.
Paddy Lowe, Zero Petroleum administrator, and Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative Stake F1 Team
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Zero Petroluem has closed a two-year agreement with the Swiss team, before the Hinwil facility is absorbed by Audi. Lowe's objective is twofold: to establish the brand to aspire to become the supplier of F1 from 2026, perhaps together with another zero-emission petrol producer such as Aramco. The rumor in the paddock is that the FIA does not want a battle to break out between “oil tankers” and fuel could become a reason for large performance differences, so the tendency would be to guarantee everyone a product that is green, but does not impact on performance.
Lowe's ambition, however, is not to enter the world of F1 and limit itself to supplying the Circus, because e-fuel will have to be widespread among all customers who have supercars and do not want to give up driving fast cars. from internal combustion engines. The desire, therefore, is to acquire a specific market, before thinking about large-scale e-fuel production, given that the costs are still decidedly higher (we are talking about 3 euros per litre) than traditional fuel extracted from fossils. .
“We are here mainly to raise awareness of synthetic fuel technology – Lowe told Motorsport.com – which can represent the future in F1 and in the world as a whole. Because it may seem incredible to think that we can replace fossil fuels with synthetic, but it will be exactly like that. We are wasting too much time in the development of new technologies: we are here to make the general public aware of the existence of new opportunities in the field of fuels”.
Zero Petroluem's petrol is considered the most advanced among the synthetic ones: Paddy Lowe's investment should be repaid by the quality of the product which is arousing great interest. The strategy of investing in Sauber to come out into the open was apt…
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