Carbon compensation for F1 GPs?

La Formula 1, after having been a technological research laboratory for automobiles, will it become a laboratory in terms of energy saving? This Friday, the FIA ​​clarified the specifications of the engine that will be used in Formula 1 from 2013 and which should allow a 35% reduction in fuel consumption. In addition, Chantal Jouanno, new Minister of Sports in France, wants Formula 1 to go even further in respecting the environment.

A great opponent of the circuit project in Flins (Yvelines) as part of the future Formula 1 French Grand Prix, Chantal Jouanno played an important role in the abandonment of the Ile-de-France project. “I criticized the choice of creating a circuit on the largest water table in Ile-de-France,” she responds in the columns of l’Equipe.

Today, the French Grand Prix file is at a standstill and no one knows how it could be restarted, not even Chatal Jouanno. “Today, we need to know if the French Motor Sport Federation is capable of supporting the cost of a Grand Prix,” she asserts, while the FFSA had wanted to abandon its role as promoter of the event. the time of Magny-Cours. “If yes, on which site? », she asks the sports daily.

“A Grand Prix does not represent much in terms of greenhouse gas emissions,” she admits. But the new Minister of Sports wants F1 to be more active in its protection of the environment. “I suggested to Jean Todt, president of the International Federation (FIA), to start thinking about carbon offsetting during all Grands Prix. » We must now know if Formula 1 will be ready to transform its image at the risk that its enthusiasts no longer recognize their favorite discipline.