Why is petrol based motorsport still a reality? Why isn't F1 dead?
It's impossible to ignore the fact that the planet is dying. Climate change is real. Whether you believe it's man made or not, you have to accept there's certain things that just don't need to be done, one of those things is petrol based motorsport. How is it that we keep allowing these polluting races to take place, especially when we have carbon neutral alternatives available. I don't understand why Formula 1 is still a thing when we have Formula E.
First, Formula 1 is hybrid and the amount of fuel used in a race is miniscule compared to the carbon footprint of traveling to the race itself : something Formula E also suffers from. Second, Formula 1 (as well as other gas powered motorsports) are the forge for innovation in the space and are what moves consumer vehicles to better, lighter weight materials, hybrid drivetrains, safety gear, air effects, etc
I'll expand on the carbon footprint a bit: cars, parts, and gear need to be shipped from one race to the next; the pit crews, the off-track staff, the racers are flown to the next race, and the fans come in from near and far to see the event. These are all the same, regardless of the kind of car being used in the race.
Wouldn't better trains fix that somewhat? Only hosting races in cities with adequate public transport? And moving the equipment around via blimp, train and/or electric trucks?
The real impact is in it being a serious driver (heh) of car culture, which in turn makes it harder to push for more sustainable alternatives to cars. The innovations it provides don’t cancel that out, especially since cars are an inherently inefficient mode of transportation.
Because it’s cool. That’s it. I don’t like it either and I think it’s a logical target for XR protests, but the fact remains that a lot of people just think fast cars are cool.
It wouldn’t make a difference, electric cars are still a terrible backbone of a country’s mobility mix, and formula E is still PR for those same companies.
You’re most likely right that the fans would eventually follow, but it wouldn’t necessarily be a positive evolution.
I always felt like as we transitioned away from fossil fuels, and also moved towards self driving cars, motosports would grow in popularity not shrink.
The way things are set up with lobbying, the automotive industry keeps pushing cars. We'll eventually have a wake up moment and will have amazing public transport everywhere. When that happens and the necessity for cars dwindles, we'll start seeing a growth in motorsport as it becomes everyone's only fix.