Nobody talks about it, but the game of ecological fuels for F1 will have a fundamental role in the 2026 world championship that will propose agile single-seaters instead of the ground effect ones that we see racing today. The FIA has studied a regulation where the aerodynamic aspect will have a less decisive role than in the latest generations of cars, while the championship will essentially be a series designed to enhance the qualities of the engines.
Manufacturers are investing resources and men in projects that will have the task of bringing to the track units capable of producing 50% of the power with the hybrid system and the remainder with the internal combustion engine. A technological challenge aimed at increasing efficiency to be associated with the introduction of fuels free of fossil fuels.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
The regulation allows for two options: e-fuel is a synthetic fuel produced through processes that use electrical energy from renewable sources; biofuel is obtained from biomass. F1 has kept the two… windows open, leaving the manufacturers to choose the type of gasoline to develop.
And in this field, that of the oil companies, a real “battle” has broken out to promote the study, development and experimentation of fuels that in the near future could become a real “clean” alternative to electric.
F1 can make an important contribution to research and it is no coincidence that the individual constructors are joined by oil companies that are very interested in diversifying the market. Aston Martin seems to be the most advanced: Aramco, a state company in Saudi Arabia, in addition to being a partner of the Silverstone team, is also a generous sponsor that is investing huge amounts of money in the development of e-fuel, having created specific research centers where only the single-cylinder Honda 2026 engines are used, which are in continuous and constant evolution.
Oliver Hoffmann, General Representative Audi AG Formula 1, Andreas Seidl, CEO Audi F1 team, and Nicola Buck, SVP marketing BP.
Photo by: Audi
Audi made the agreement with bp (British Petroleum) official yesterday, but work had already begun behind the scenes. Adam Baker, CEO Audi Formula Racing GmbH, clearly explained the value of the collaboration: “This partnership is of great importance to us. From 2026 onwards, there will be strong competition in the field of sustainable fuels in Formula 1. In view of the high performance potential, it was important for us to start fuel testing at the end of 2022 with bp as a partner.”
“The combustion process is very complex and can only be optimised by developing the engine in combination with the properties of the fuel. It is impressive how many fuel variants we have developed so far as we prepare for our 2026 season. I am convinced that with bp we are perfectly positioned.”
Audi has closed a deal with bp for the supply of e-fuel
Photo by: Audi
At the moment bp is also involved in F1 with Alpine, which is evaluating whether to switch to the Mercedes power unit from 2026 to make the team more easily sellable, beyond the specific denials of Flavio Briatore, according to which the British oilman will end up working exclusively with the “four rings”.
The “Star”, obviously, continues a long-standing partnership with Petronas and the Malaysian giant has also increased its research activity aware that petrol, freer than initially thought, can contribute to increasing the performance of 6-cylinder turbo engines with greater efficiency in the combustion chamber, aiming for compression ratios that were unthinkable until recently.
And Ferrari? It is nestled in the Shell shell. The Dutch multinational, generous sponsor of the Prancing Horse, is still undecided about which type of gasoline to favor: bio-fuel or e-fuel. A choice that others would have already made: Red Bull Powertrains, for example, is working with Mobil1 in the direction of synthetic fuel that has more calorific capacity and greater development opportunities for extreme solutions such as those being studied in F1.
The regulation prohibits the use of future power units on the bench to exploit synergies with oil companies to develop engines and, above all, to cover kilometers to find reliability. But the trick to get around the constraints of the budget cap is the very simple one of using single-cylinder engines (always updated with the latest discoveries) to test a type of gasoline per day with different characteristics, gradually adapting them to the evolution of endothermic engines.
The “mono” cannot be an F1 engine, so it is the tool that can be freely used to do all the experiments one wants, pumping out significant budgets excluded from controls.
Ferrari SF-24: Shell is the Scuderia’s strategic partner for fuel development
Picture of: George Piola
If Shell hasn’t chosen yet, one wonders whether Ferrari’s partner is spending twice as much as the others, or whether, instead, it is late on the chemical “rearmament” that could have a significant impact at the start of the 2026 championship. The battle over eco-fuels has yet to hit the headlines, but it is a challenge that started very early. And we will hear about it more and more often, even though the multi-million dollar plans are kept top secret. There is talk of investments that could reach 100 million dollars in three years…
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