The FIA has worked with McLaren and Deloitte to produce a guide for Formula 1 teams on how to produce racing cars more sustainably.

The F1 Constructors’ Circularity Handbook, which will be distributed to all teams, is intended to assist teams develop more sustainable practices. Its goal is to minimise the consumption of resources, reduce waste and maximise the value of materials used in car production.

The handbook includes guidance on how to gather data, how to examine circularity of input and waste, and ultimately “calculate a single circularity metric.”

McLaren was the first F1 team to receive the FIA’s three-star Environmental Accreditation. It has also experimented with the use of recycled carbon fibre on its cars in past seasons.

The FIA’s single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said the governing body will consider what steps it should take to promote more sustainable car production in F1, which could ultimately include new regulations.

“Obviously all the environmental matters have been increasing in importance in the last decade in a fairly rapid manner and will continue to do so,” he said. “So it is our obligation towards society, towards our sport, towards the long-term sustainability of the sport to keep pushing on all such topics.

“The circularity is a key aspect, obviously a huge number of components get made and raced on cars on a daily basis and to measure and to encourage a more responsible use of these components and potentially reuse as much as possible is as vital.

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“We share the objective with McLaren and with other Formula 1 teams that the sport needs to become more sustainable. We have a dual role. We obviously have meetings with all the Formula 1 teams to discuss all of these matters in progress with the sustainability directors of the FIA and of the Formula 1 teams. And we’re also here to make either regulations, if necessary, or guidance documents, if not, and to try to push this message across.”

Tombazis said the fact the reigning world champions had undertaken the project showed sustainable practices do not necessarily compromise performance.

“I think it’s quite significant that McLaren have carried out this work,” he said. “They’re already in a leading position amongst teams for sustainability matters and at the same time, they’re also in a pretty good position on the track. And I think that’s quite shows that the two things are not conflicting.

“We, the FIA, want to work with all the teams for these matters, we want all the teams to adopt certain practices. Where necessary, we may have regulations in the future pushing to the use of certain materials, so pushing to certain responsible practises. That is in order to not give a disadvantage to somebody performance-wise or cost cap-wise who engage with these practises, but ultimately to make sure that all the teams follow suit and do a similar thing.”

The scope of the handbook is limited to chassis construction only and does not include other components including the power units and tyres. However Tombazis sees it as a useful starting point for future development which could have applications beyond motor racing.

“It’s an area of innovation in Formula 1. We soon hope to expand it to the PU manufacturers and to tyres and to all aspects of Formula 1.

“But also we hope that we’ll eventually reach the full automotive industry and spread across many aspects of society. So that is a very good and important message of innovation through motorsport helping in the general picture.”

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