2013 F1 'Green' Engine

With worlds trends as they are now, people everywhere alike are crying out for a change in motor sport racing.  With NASCAR committing to racing on ethanol fuel for their 2011 season, and then we have full out races like the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, that are created 'green'.  The FOTA and the FIA hope that the adoption of the new rules will insulate the sport from charges of wastefulness at a time when supplies of fossil fuels are diminishing and there is pressure for the world to cut its production of greenhouse gases. 

New F1 Engine Rules For 2013

• 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbos with energy recovery and fuel restrictions to replace current 2.4-litre normally aspirated V8s
• Fuel efficiency to increase by a target of 50%
• Overall power to remain same at approx 750bhp
• Checks and balances to ensure costs are contained and performance across all engines remains comparable
• Plan for advanced 'compound' turbos to be introduced in subsequent years
• Power of Kers energy recovery systems to increase from 60kw in 2011 to 120kw in 2013

By adopting the regulations, F1 hopes to widen its appeal to sponsors - commercial insiders say some companies are reluctant to get involved in F1 because of its image of being wasteful with resources.

The regulations will go before the F1 Commission - a group of stakeholders that agrees all rule changes - on Thursday 9 December before being rubber-stamped by the World Council the following day.  Even there are still key figures within the sport that strongly disagree. 

Bernie Ecclestone has been firmly opposed to the rule change. He told BBC Sport: "We have a very good engine formula. Why should we change it to something that is going to cost millions of pounds and that nobody wants and that could end up with one manufacturer getting a big advantage?"

This will not be the first change to the sport to cause a turn for 'green'.  In the 2010 season, KERS will be allowed back in.

The acronym KERS stands for Kinetic Energy Recovery System. The device recovers the kinetic energy that is present in the waste heat created by the car’s braking process. It stores that energy and converts it into power that can be called upon to boost acceleration. For 2013, the power capacity of the Kers systems will be increased from 60kw to 120kw.

So this is just the beginning of a 'greener' future for Formula One. The aim is that by associating these energy-saving, fuel-efficient technologies with a glamorous and popular sport, they will become desirable in road cars, where their use is already increasing dramatically.