Lewis Hamilton calls F1 the 'best test bench' for bringing sustainability into everyday use

Lewis Hamilton believes that F1 is a good “test bench” for sustainable technologies that can help combat climate change. The Briton said advances made in the sport could eventually trickle down into everyday use.

Hamilton was attending a Q&A session organized by Mercedes’ fuel partner Petronas at the 2020 Expo in Dubai. When asked if F1 could be doing more in terms of sustainability, the seven-time world champion said:

“I’ve been having a lot of conversations with F1 about what they’re doing. We’re going to all these different countries, but in the past [we have] not necessarily been working on leaving a great footprint in the background. There’s always been a lot of waste.”

He further said:

“So, there’s been a huge amount of work that is going on currently. And I think you can’t do it on your own. So, it’s about having good partners and Mercedes, for example, are targeting carbon neutral, and really just focusing on really pushing technology forward. Everything that we do is the best test bench for technology as well. So, everything that we’re working on trickles down into everyday use.”

F1 was one of the first premier class motorsports to adopt hybrid technology with the introduction of KERS in 2009, and later with a full turbo-hybrid in 2014. Yet the sport has often been criticized for dragging its feet in reducing its enormous carbon footprint.

In the last few years, following the sport’s takeover by Liberty Media, FOM has been pushing to decrease the sport’s impact on the environment. It has adopted more sustainable operational practices, along with a push towards greener F1 power units.

While the sport’s bosses have ruled out a complete shift towards electrification, they have nevertheless sought to increase the role of hybrid power in the sport. The 2026 power unit regulations have put even more emphasis on hybrid technology while keeping the current generation of internal combustion engines largely the same.

With all the new changes, F1’s new owners hope to make the sport completely carbon neutral and sustainable by 2030.

---

“It’s been crazy” – Lewis Hamilton on Netflix’s impact on F1

Lewis Hamilton says witnessing the impact of Netflix’s Drive to Survive on F1 has been “crazy”.

The Briton feels that the series has been vital in helping viewers gain deeper insights into the inner workings of the sport. Speaking at the 2020 Expo in Dubai, he said:

“It’s booming right now. See, everyone’s watching the Netflix series it’s been quite crazy to see the whole light build-up of this sport just from that. I think it’s always been such a great sport but so many people haven’t seen the in-depth version of what goes on within sports.”

Season four of Drive to Survive premiered late last week. It focussed mainly on Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s bitter title rivalry from last season.