Is This The Beginning Of The End?

Formula One has always been a place of innovation and the leader of vehicle technology, but with global warming becoming an ever more present worry, is this the beginning of the end for F1?

Car manufacturers are taking electric technology and electric powertrains more seriously and investing more, with the likes of the VW brand and its sub companies like Porche and Audi have all now dipping into all electric motorsports.

VW are now stating that they will cease all combustion engine motorsports as a factory team, saying: that its motorsport division’s “clear emphasis on fully electric racing cars” would be complemented by a “farewell” to all regular programmes, which would include stopping the production of its Golf GTI TCR car at the end of this year.

Explaining the decision to choose electric-only strategy, Volkswagen Motorsport director Sven Smeets stated that motorsport could be used as a “trailblazer” for the development of electric vehicles, whilst production would end support for any teams that are currently running their cars could still receive support.

Impact on F1

This could therefore have a large impact because with VW being such a large company, others like Honda and Renault may follow suit and concentrate on fully electric racing series like Formula E for example.

Their departures could also see some drivers leave F1 for Formula E as electric cars continue to become more of the norm but also quicker and will be an everyday sight on the road.

VW’s electric ID range has already proven itself especially the R which has set new fastest world records over many tracks and courses worldwide.

Its time of 6:05.336 is not only the fastest electric car to set a lap time but was a sheer 40 seconds faster than the previous whilst shattering the all time record on pikes peak and the Goodwood Festival of Speed course as well.

Going back to F1’s complication in all of this, with Mercedes having a Formula E team only shows the level of interest that’s being generated in electric racing, and even if more manufactures left then who’s to say they would continue to supply engines in F1?

If Honda left, that would leave Red Bull and newly named Alpha Tauri without engines.

With Red Bull being so competitive with a less powerful engine, it’s highly unlikely that  Mercedes or Ferrari are going to supply them so already we could lose two teams and it would be even worse if Mercedes did pull out altogether.

Williams and Racing Point (Aston Martin as of next season) both are supplied with Mercedes engines.

Regardless of who pulls out first and how they do it, it will have a massive effect on out beloved sport and the more and more you take away from VW’s announcement the more scary it becomes.

Whilst it would be sad for fans who adore F1 and its noise, we cant simply ignore the impact anymore as the world is changing and everything in it, and it wont be long before FE does take over as the leading innovation that F1 once was.

It’s only a matter of time before it happens and whilst this may be sad for some die hard F1 fans, it doesn’t have to be bad news because Formula E has some of the best on track action in years and in my opinion the cars look far better than its F1 counter parts.

Formula E races are also currently less expensive to attend and with the field of talent, it isn’t a series that you would want to miss. 

The clocks have already began to count down to when a Formula E car begins to out pace and out manoeuvre a F1 car but the question now is when will that happen?