Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has urged the powers that be in Formula 1 to seek a “financially sustainable” solution to the likelihood of huge increases in fuel costs.
Discussions at a recent F1 Commission meeting in Geneva concluded that the development work on new sustainable fuels could see eventual costs rise from $22-$33 a litre to a whopping $170-$225.
One unnamed F1 team boss, according to The Race, has suggested that the final figure could soar even further to $300.
This means that up to $100,000 could be spent each race weekend by a team, amounting to a potential $2.4 million over the course of a 24-race calendar.
Speaking to media including Motorsport Week at the Miami Grand Prix, Wolff concluded that the costs are mostly down to the environmental impact of production, and is working with the team’s longstanding fuel partner for a viable solution.
“From my point of view, what makes it so expensive is that the whole supply chain and energy contribution needs to be green,” he said.
“So we need to look at whether there’s anything we can tweak to bring the per-litre price down. We want to be open-minded.
“To achieve all of that, you need a certain specification of ingredients that is very expensive – and it’s coming in much more expensive than anyone thought.
“Petronas has been a great partner of ours. They’re fully committed technically to the project, and with them we’re evaluating is there a regulation that can be changed to make it more financially sustainable.”
Horner says F1 fuel cost rise is ‘not a significant issue’
The slated rise in fuel costs will of course be of great to concern to many teams, particularly those at the bottom of the grid, who do not possess the budgets the larger teams have.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner seemed more relaxed about the issue, and took a rational approach, but did acknowledge something could be done to not impinge on teams too much.
“It was raised by one of the PUMs [Power Unit Manufacturers]. Personally, for us, it’s not a significant issue,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“There are a lot of development costs in these new sustainable fuels that being introduced. Maybe a certain bracket should be introduced going forward.
“But fuel is potentially one of the bigger performance differentiators. The fuel companies seem very engaged in that.”
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