F1's net zero carbon plans a "fundamental change" rather than "gimmick"

The Formula 1 announced last November they plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by the year 2030 and the sport's Director of Strategy, Yath Gangakumaran, insists the plan really is a "fundamental change" rather than just a "short-term gimmick". 

In its current state F1 has a massive carbon footprint, not only because of the emissions from the cars on-track but mainly because of the incredible amount of parts and personnel that need transporting around the world for every race and testing session.

In the plan which was announced at the end of November, Liberty Media are aiming to make all Grands Prix sustainable by 2025 to eventually achieve a complete net zero of emissions by the end of this decade.

Gangakumaran, one of the many guest speakers at Autosport International last week, explained how the F1 want to stop being "defensive and apologetic" about its current carbon footprint by doing something about it.

"This isn't a short term marketing campaign, it's not a short term gimmick, this is a fundamental change in the way that we operate as a sport," 
he said.

"Instead of being defensive and apologetic about having cars with internal combustion engines, we want to take a leadership position to showcase that with incredible leading-edge technology married to a purpose, we can actually help to decarbonise not just our sport, but hopefully have a bigger impact outside of our sport."

Historically, F1 hasn't exactly stood for sustainability and the environment, but the sport is trying to change that image, according to Gangakumaran.

"We've been terrible at telling the story about Formula 1 in sustainability and efficiency, and that's going to change," he vowed.