In the last seven years, Formula 1 (F1) has seen a surge in popularity worldwide, particularly in the USA, after the success of Netflix’s 2019 Drive to Survive. In that same year, F1 announced its commitment to a net zero carbon footprint by 2030. They say they want to improve their own environmental impacts but also “positively [influence] the wider global transportation network”.

The organisation has already made a start. By 2026 all F1 teams will use 100 percent sustainable fuels. In their 2023 environmental impact report, F1 says its emissions reduced by 13 percent compared to 2018. Still, in total, it estimated its measure for tonnes of CO2 equivalents in 2022 to be 223,031, the approximate equivalent of “48,000 gasoline powered cars”.

Despite efforts towards sustainability, many fans are still hyper aware of the environmental impact the sport has. A team of researchers from the University of Texas in Austin, headed by Ph.D. candidate Yara Acaf, are one of the first to explore this potential “cognitive dissonance” among F1 fans who must balance their environmental beliefs with their fandom.

“We are seeing younger generations being more outspoken about social issues and their concerns when it comes to emissions in specific areas of the world where F1 does race,” she tells upstart.

Data from Nielsen Sport indicates that F1’s fanbase grew to 826.5 million people in 2024, an increase of 90 million from 2023. Additionally, 6.5 million people attended races in 2024, a 9 percent rise from the previous year. A 2018 Global Sports Fan survey found that 46 percent of F1 fans were under 35. With this increasingly younger fanbase, Acaf says F1 must adapt to ensure they maintain their audience.

“Younger people are not just watching something and that’s it,” she said.

“They are questioning what they’re seeing.”

Despite this, Australian F1 fan and podcaster, Elle Baillieu, tells upstart she recognises the environmental impacts the sport has.

“I think I’m definitely more conscious of it and I’m aware of it and I think about it from a business perspective, but I still love the sport.”

Information on F1’s net zero progress was released in 2019 and 2023. Despite this, Bailieu says she still feels like she doesn’t know much about F1’s net zero plans.

“I think that’s due to [the fact that] not enough information is provided on a surface level publicly,” she says.

“I think if you want to know, you really have to dig deep.”

Acaf also agrees that after the 2019 announcement, there was a lack of further information.

“I was like, ‘well, no follow-up, no nothing, no reporting, what’s going on?’”

The main emitter of carbon from F1 in 2022 was not the cars, but business travel and logistics. In 2025, F1 will race 24 times in 21 countries on five separate continents. Drivers and teams will fly approximately 120,000 km across the season.

Baillieu says the calendar is her biggest concern.

“After Japan, we’re off to Miami and then it’s Europe and then it’s back to America, and then it’s back to Asia and then it’s back to Europe and then it’s back to the Middle East,” she tells upstart.

“You know, that doesn’t make sense.”

However, at the recent Australian GP in Melbourne, Baillieu says she noticed little things that made her think more about the environment during her time at Albert Park.

“It sounds so basic but [there were] more bins and more signage on what goes in what bin,” she says.

“I actually think that’s really important because it makes you stop and think and go, ‘actually no, hang on’.”

F1 has also increased access to “greener ways to reach the race[s]” for fans. However, when Acaf asked those in her study about the buses and shuttles being provided for fans to get to the track, they said, “we don’t think that was for the environment”.

F1 race in four of the world’s top 10 oil-exporting countries. One of the sport’s leading sponsors is Aramco, a Saudi Arabian oil company. Acaf says that because of this, it may be difficult for F1 fans to trust that the organisation is serious about the environment. She adds that despite the global organisation’s efforts, some fans are still unsure about the balance between their morals and their love for the sport.

“Fans … have noticed this for sure, so the sport still has a very long way to go when it comes to showing its genuine environmental concern.”

Article: Harvey Constable is a third-year Media and Communications (Journalism/Sport Media) student at La Trobe University. You can follow him on Twitter @bangersays.

Photo: by Steffen Prößdorf and can be found HERE and used under a Creative Commons licence. This image has not been modified.