“If we weren’t there, we would talk less about these countries, it would be more negative”, assures the boss of F1, about Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, which have hosted the queen category of motorsport for a few years and will be joined in 2023 by Qatar.
As the penultimate round of the 2022 Championship takes place this weekend in Brazil, the Italian, met in Mexico at the end of October, highlights “sustainable fuel” in response to criticism of the carbon footprint.
QUESTION: Sportingly, the 2021 season was extraordinary with the Verstappen-Hamilton duel, but this year the Dutchman killed all suspense. Isn’t there a risk of weariness?
ANSWER: “No, I don’t think so. All the races were sold out. And then Verstappen and Red Bull did a magnificent job, maybe the others did things less well. If other teams had made fewer mistakes, we would have had a very different situation (…). I’m sure that next year, we will have a very tight championship. And, in any case, we have already sold a number of tickets unbelievable”.
Q: Twenty-four Grands Prix are scheduled for 2023, a record. Is this the limit?
A: “With 24 we are approaching the limit. But we can never say that it is over. F1 had periods with 17 Grands Prix which were really difficult to find. Today we are there because our success is incredible. But if we have to find a balance, I think 24 is good. There are many other countries that would like to host a Grand Prix. Tomorrow morning, we could sign with seven or eight more countries . But we can’t do it.”
Q: Four races in the Middle East (Qatar will join Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia), one in Azerbaijan: what do you say to those who criticize your presence in countries accused of violating human rights?
A: “We say the same thing every time. We are a very open system. There are countries that want to change things, and we think that being there is a spotlight for things to change. We are working with the United Nations, there is no problem, we have nothing to hide (…) It is not my role to discuss politics, but these countries want to change cultures, which are thousands of years old, do you think it’s possible overnight? F1 is an accelerator of change. If we weren’t there, we would talk less about these countries, it would be more negative.
Q: So you are positioning yourself like Fifa in Qatar for its World Cup, with a similar problem?
A: “I don’t think so. I’ve read things about Fifa and Qatar that have nothing to do with our situation with Qatar. The track has been there for ten years (the Losail circuit could nevertheless be replaced by a newcomer in the future, editor’s note). We must have a very serious approach, we check, when we go to a country, that the promoter respects certain points. If the promoter does not respect them, there are clauses in the contract, which can be terminated immediately”.
Q: On the other hand, F1 aims to be carbon neutral by 2030, does this seem paradoxical when there are more races on the calendar and F1 travels all over the world?
A: “We have an important responsibility, F1 can push for change in a global framework. We will use sustainable fuel in the future. We are a global championship, so to go anywhere in the world, we have a carbon footprint But we think that with sustainable fuel, this will be solved. We have objectives and we think we may reach them before. As part of our mobility, there is the boat, the plane, and they never “will use total electrification. So we will use sustainable fuel to have a greater effect. Also, with all the promoters, we have a program of using renewable energy. On the track, we have the most hybrid engines performing, the most efficient in the world”.
Q: Will F1 cars ever be 100% electric?
A: “I don’t think so. Sport has two very important elements, technical and passionate. If we don’t have this combination, we lose everything”.
