25/02/2020
NEWS STORY
F1 is really in a quandary, for the fact is that unless the engine formula, indeed the entire philosophy of the sport is radically overhauled in the coming years, as it stands, it is entirely possible that fossil fuel powered cars could be racing in countries where the road going equivalent is outlawed.
More and more countries are passing legislation that will see fossil fuel vehicles banned, and while most range between 2030 and 2040, individual cities such as Paris, Rome and Mexico City are introducing their own bans as early as 2024/2025.
The growing demand to phase out fossil fuel vehicles is causing a seismic change in the automobile industry, and understandably this is in turn affecting motor sport.
Though Honda has committed to one more season in F1 - currently the only manufacturer to do so - the Japanese company admits that it is under intense pressure to push further into electric vehicles which will drive up its spending whilst also compromising its fossil fuel F1 programme.
"We are speaking to Red Bull about the continuation after 2021," the company's F1 managing director, Masashi Yamamoto tells Motorsport.com. "But the other thing we have to consider is the whole car industry is facing a very difficult situation because of electrification. Many companies have to invest a lot, so we have to kind of think about the business side and how efficient we can run the program. That's the point."
Asked if the move towards electric makes Formula E a more attractive proposition for Honda, Yamamoto admitted: "Obviously we are interested and we are continuing and collecting the information.
"But at the moment we just focus on F1 and we don't have any plan to participate in Formula E. We have to focus on F1."