Sebastian Vettel, the four-time Formula One World Champion, will showcase the practicality of fossil-free synthetic fuel by driving a selection of his personal F1 cars at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Vettel will use P1 Fuels sustainable fuel to race Nigel Mansell’s 1992 title-winning Williams Renault and Ayrton Senna’s 1993 Monaco Grand Prix-winning McLaren Ford. The vehicles’ V10 and V8 engines require no modifications to run on this direct replacement fuel. Vettel will drive both cars up the festival’s famous hill course over the weekend.
This demonstration comes as more automakers and companies start to explore synthetic fuel’s potential. Last year, Porsche began producing synthetic fuel at a plant in Chile, using it in the first drops of the nearly carbon-neutral fuel in a 911. While production will increase through 2027, it is not enough to replace our daily consumption of fossil fuel.
In April, Stellantis announced that it was testing synthetic fuels in several of its engines. The company evaluated 28 gasoline and diesel engine families built between 2014 and 2029, examining emissions, power, reliability, and other engine parameters.
The European Union also showed support for synthetic fuels earlier this year by allowing the sale of new cars that run on them. However, automakers must meet certain requirements for implementing the technology and ensuring vehicles do not use regular gasoline or diesel fuel.
While synthetic e-fuels still require a significant amount of energy to create, limiting their ability to reduce CO2 emissions, advancements continue to be made. Toyota CEO Koji Sato believes the technology must overcome this hurdle before it can be widely adopted.
Porsche’s production facility in southern Chile takes advantage of the region’s wind conditions, which allow the plant’s wind turbines to operate optimally and power the energy-intensive production process. Critics, such as Volkswagen brand boss Thomas Schäfer, have labeled e-fuel technology as unnecessary noise.
Vettel’s F1 career began in 2007, and he achieved his first Grand Prix win for Toro Rosso at Monza in 2008. He went on to win his first World Championship for Red Bull in 2010 and subsequently claimed three more titles during his 16-year career before retiring in December of last year.