F1 2026, there is the topic of ‘ecological’ petrols: the FIA ​​provides for an exemption in the three rounds of testing

The F1 revolution is also in the petrols In the season of the total revolution of Formula 1, it is not only the power units and chassis that have changed radically compared to the past, but also the petrols. The 2026 regulation in fact requires teams throughout its application cycle to use innovative ecological fuels, the same ones that at least in theory promise to extend the life of current heat engines in everyday life. However, not without some production difficulties: according to what was revealed by the authoritative German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, the FIA ​​has in fact allowed the teams not to compulsorily use new concept petrol at least for the three test sessions between Barcelona and Sakhir. https://open.spotify.com/episode/45D12yvt3TnrjiVS4w6rCf?si=c4cd42cb1a63477c Fuel suppliers are in fact obliged to use sustainable petrol without fossil components, choosing between synthetic petrol so-called “e-fuel” and those derived from biomass, or even to mix the two types of fuel. The theoretically most innovative products are precisely the synthetic ones, created in the laboratory by mixing hydrogen atoms with carbon dioxide atoms taken directly from the atmosphere: it is in this sense that petrols promise to be zero emissions throughout their entire life cycle, because if it is true that there is combustion in the heat engine and therefore carbon dioxide reintroduced into the air, a similar quantity of CO2 was in theory taken from the atmosphere upstream, in the fuel production phase. ‘Eco’ fuels but, for now, not for everyone A very promising technology but not exactly available for everyone, at least for the moment. Not only an issue relating to costs – AMuS estimates prices for now at around 250 euros per litre, which evidently only a business like F1 can afford – but also to the difficulties in producing such large quantities of fuel in the laboratory to push the 22 F1 single-seaters in free practice, qualifying and racing for 24 GPs per year (or even for production and use for the mass market). The rationale for the exemption granted by the FIA ​​for testing would therefore be to allow suppliers to work until March before having to approve the petrol, in order to accumulate sufficient quantities at least for the first grand prix. However, it is very likely that the ecological petrols of the 2026 F1 World Championship will constitute a rather important element for improving performance: it will be essential for each supplier to make their products more efficient because as energy density increases – essentially, simplifying the concept, for the same quantity of petrol the ability to generate energy through combustion will be necessary – it will be necessary to take less fuel on board with obvious benefits in terms of weight and therefore lap time. The FIA ​​exemption on petrol for F1 tests For this reason, the fact that there is no regulatory obligation to use “green” petrol in tests does not automatically imply that teams do not use them at all. Indeed, it is expected that the teams, precisely to test the behavior of the engines before Melbourne without “surprises”, will already test the new petrols between Barcelona and the two rounds of testing in Bahrain. With the exemption, however, it will still be possible to use old generation petrol (and therefore more polluting) while still clocking up kilometers without too much anxiety, giving the F1 teams and fuel suppliers a bit of margin in view of the start of the season. However, the possibility that the exemption will also apply to race weekends or tests of the 2027 season seems excluded.