Formule 1 een beetje groener

"It will take some doing for Formula One to trade in its gas-guzzling, cash-devouring image for something leaner, greener and altogether more planet-friendly.The sport's major players are working on it as a priority, however.

Reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the auto industry, with the threat of legislative action hanging over manufacturers. It would be wrong to assume that Formula One has only just woken up, however. Champions Renault's Enstone factory in central England is powered by renewable energy and rates as carbon neutral in CO2 emissions, while the FIA plants tens of thousands of trees every year in Mexico to balance the 'carbon footprint' left by the global traveling circus.

The FIA wants a new fuel efficiency engine for 2011 after the introduction in 2009 of a lightweight system harnessing wasted energy from the brakes to provide extra horsepower in short bursts.

By 2010 the body hopes to draw up a regulation for the recovery and re-use of waste heat from the engines. In the longer term there is likely to be a completely new and smaller turbo-charged engine, in line with industry trends, and possible use of bio-fuels."

Bron: www.reuters.com