ben_watkins wrote:It's about time the FIA admits the carbon footprint of the sport is pretty poor..
Actually F1's carbon footprint is smaller than that of the following sports:
- Football (soccer)
- Tennis
- Golf
The reason's being (apparently) that the carbon emitted by the traveling of these sportsmen per year, is less than that emitted by F1 car's + the vehicles used to transport them etc.
Take the European Champions League, every Wednesday the top 3 teams (with about 16players plus staff) from each of the national leagues travel accros the continent to play a game of football and back - then next week they switch venues and do it again (okay I know its a simplified version) but do that for a year and that's a lot of Carbon. Remember, yes per event F1 has a huge carbon footprint, but there's only 17-20 events per year (plus tests)
On that basis I can believe the football one (maybe not the tennis or golf) but that's what I read about a year ago - I think maybe in F1 Racing magazine (not sure about that though)
Sorry I can't find a link to post or resource to name.
Finally a point to add: The point is not to reduce F1's carbon footprint as such - the point is that:
1. F1 is not viewed as an eco friendly sport - for obvious reasons. So in an increasingly eco-concious world we must accept that to get continued support we must improve this image.
2. F1 - unlike the majority of other sports - is in a fairly unique position, whereby it can actually change it's carbon footprint for the better by a fairly substantial margin. Furthermore with the amount of money spent on development in F1, it can be used to develop these technologies (such as KERS) to a point by which they can become commercially viable. KERS is a perfect case point because it keeps everyone happy:
1. Drivers - there will be a "power" or "overtake" button - woohoo!
2. Constructors - They can develop the systems to gain an advantage on track. this equates to more points, and thus more money.
3. Manufacturers - They can use this technology in their road cars - thus selling more due to their new eco-friendly image = £££ or $$$ lol
4. Bernie & The FIA - F1 is viewed as "doing its bit" to save the world - and thus gets more fans - which equals more money.
5. Max Mosley - Overtake button solves supposed overtaking problem.
6. The Fan's - point 5 having being realised Max retires.
Okay the last one's a joke - for us there's an added element of suprise and on track action, which can only be good yeah?
Basically, F1's going green because:
A - It can
B - It should
C - Everybody wins.
Silence is golden when you don't know a good answer.
