At the end of the 2010s, Formula 1 pledged to become net-carbon zero by 2030 in an effort to reduce its environmental impact. With the new 2026 regulations, energy sources have changed, and as a result, the playing field has transformed as well. 

The goal of F1 is for teams to build the best car and have the best driver in order to secure the FIA Formula One World Championship for Drivers and for Constructors at the end of the season. Because of new environmental initiatives, F1 has shifted from a sport grounded in risk-taking wheel-to-wheel combat — where cars are side-by-side through corners, often forcing their way to the inside line of the turn’s apex — to one where battery management and strategy determine performance. 

The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile’s 2026 regulations include a new engine that contains a 50-50 split between electric and combustion energy sources and the implementation of advanced sustainable fuel. While experts believe the latter to be an alternative to standard fossil fuel, the increase in electric engine power means that drivers will be continuously balancing energy consumption on track. 

One of the ways that drivers maintain energy deployment is through braking. Prior to the 2026 regulations, drivers would push their cars to their limits and brake right before the apex of turns in order to overtake their opponents. Now, the cars require braking on the straights in order to preserve their battery throughout races, increasing lap times and decreasing the average speed at which the cars are driven. With drivers having to focus more on preserving the battery life of their engine, winning a race becomes a reflection of strategy success rather than of a driver’s pure pace and racing ability. 

Max Verstappen, Red Bull F1 driver and four-time world champion, has been outspoken in his dismay of these new regulations and their effects on track. 

“You are boosting past, then you run out of battery the next straight.” Verstappen said. “They boost past you again. For me, it’s just a joke.” 

Strategy has always played a part in F1, but drivers historically had to push the car to their limits regardless of the strategy. When the cars reached their battery limit and could no longer defend themselves, they had to fight on track to keep positions and utilize strategy regarding Drag Reduction System zones, which allowed opponents within a second to have a speed advantage. 

F1 set a carbon emission baseline in 2018, with the sport achieving a 26% cut in emissions by 2024, proving that efforts beyond the track play a major part in reducing emissions. The FIA’s decision to implement the 2026 fuel and engine regulations was not necessary to see progress in the sport’s sustainability efforts; rather, the FIA should shift its environmental initiatives toward other aspects, such as transportation, that are not central to the on-track nature of the sport.

Despite the immense focus that the FIA has given to on-track sustainability, fuel emissions during races produce less than 1% of the sport’s total carbon footprint. This emphasis on fuel efficiency and sustainable power sources is important, but it is not the most influential aspect of the sport’s environmental impact. Regulating minor emissions is not worthwhile if it sacrifices the point of the sport — pure speed and ruthless on-track battles to push the limits of the cars — especially when there are other more impactful areas to focus on sustainability efforts. 

In fact, it is the frequent team travels and transportation of the cars and other equipment that make up roughly two-thirds of the sport’s carbon emissions, not the on-track racing. While the 2025 race calendar was rearranged to promote fewer back-and-forth flights to continents, there have not been any other initiatives since. The FIA should promote sustainable policies at the team level. If the FIA wanted to substantially reduce its environmental footprint, it would implement travel policies aimed at decreasing carbon emissions. 

Instead of altering regulation on the track of this beloved sport, constructors should re-examine production habits and implement environmental initiatives that are not fundamental to the nature of the sport, such as recycling used tires in an effort to reduce waste. 

Fans love F1 for its cutthroat, late-braking passes and pure adrenaline, which current performative sustainability initiatives compromise. If F1 truly cares about sustainability, the FIA should pursue on- and off-track initiatives regardless of whether the cameras are watching. 

Lara Terpstra is an Opinion Columnist who writes about politics, pop-culture and automotives in her column “The Crossover.” She can be reached at laralee@umich.edu.