FIA wants early green engine push

The FIA is hoping to push through greener new engine rules before a much-awaited new powerplant is introduced in 2013.

Formula 1 teams are currently trying to reach agreement on a new set of engine regulations to come into force from 2013 - with current thinking edging towards a 1.5 litre turbocharged engine that will feature KERS.

But although such a move to smaller capacity and more fuel-efficient engines will be welcome as the sport tries to become more environmentally friendly, the FIA is hoping that changes can be made before then – perhaps by forcing teams to improve their fuel economy.

Gilles Simon, the FIA's director of powertrain and electronics, said: "We have to try and push forward with fuel efficiency. If, as an engine engineer, I am given a maximum fuel load, I will try to give the driver the maximum horsepower possible, building the most efficient engine I can.

"It is a technical competition and as efficiency is obviously good for road cars, that could be good for them as well. So we want to try to adapt the rules we have in the run-up to the new engine formula."

Simon, who was speaking in the in-house FIA In Motion magazine, thinks it vital that any move to change F1's regulations fits in with where the road car industry is heading.

"Ideally, we would like to understand where road cars will be in five to ten years. We would then create regulations for three years from now to anticipate this. This is the most difficult route because we don't want to impose our own views. We need to have a proper view of where the manufacturers will be.

"After that, we will do what is logical for the different championships. I think that could actually add to the show because with reduced displacement engines and lower torque, you could use additional electrical torque to differentiate between the cars, while at the same time developing and showcasing hybrid technology and performance that will be used in passenger cars."

Simon also thinks the public need better educating about how little carbon is produced from F1 cars when they are actually on track.

"Less than one per cent of an F1 team's carbon footprint comes from running its cars. All the rest is from running the team, and above all, more than 60 per cent of the carbon footprint comes from the electricity they use in their factories and wind tunnels."