Petrol's days are numbered in F1 – Verstappen

Dec.11 (GMM) Max Verstappen predicts that Formula 1’s petrol-powered days are coming to an end.

When asked where the sport will be in a decade, the triple world champion told Blick newspaper: “Petrol will probably be gone.

“But our sport is already becoming greener and more sustainable. What is for certain is that Max Verstappen will no longer be there,” he laughed.

In 2014, the sport made the controversial move from loud, fuel-guzzling naturally-aspirated engines to hybrid ‘power units’, with the electrical elements and sustainable fuels to ramp up even more for 2026 and beyond.

Little, however, has been heard about F1 potentially looking into hydrogen – which can be produced with wind or solar with water as the only by-product.

But now, F1 and the FIA have announced that a working group is being set up in conjunction with the FIA’s off-road Extreme E series – which will be renamed Extreme H from 2025 as it switches to hydrogen power.

Formula 1’s chief technical officer Pat Symonds explained: “Our sport has a tradition of bringing new technologies to the forefront of public perception in incredibly short timescales.

“This working group enables a collaboration which will allow us to gain first-hand experience and contribute to the understanding and development of the many aspects of hydrogen propulsion that Extreme H will embrace,” he added.