March 17, 2008 - Formerly concerned with speed above all, Formula One has begun offering incentives to car manufacturers that incorporate greener technologies into their racecars. In the past year the sport's governing body, FIA, has implementing a range of measures geared toward the twin goals of saving fuel and showcasing environmental innovations in the auto industry, the New York Times reports.

“Formula One historically has been profligate; it’s been a sport which has developed ludicrously powerful engines to really no fixed agenda, maybe running fuels that would never see the light of day,” says Nick Fry, chief executive of Honda's Formula One team. “The amounts of money that the car companies are paying to compete in F1 are rewarded hopefully by victories, but that’s not sufficient. It’s got to incorporate technology or intellectual-property development or people development that can be fed back into the parent company.”

FIA president Max Moseley agrees. “By bringing in rule changes which make these technologies the only means by which a power advantage can be obtained, we can ensure that the outstanding engineers and huge budgets available to Formula One will be deployed on energy-recovery technologies which are directly relevant to the car industry’s efforts to reduce CO2 emissions as well as the average motorist’s fuel bill,” he says.

Recent rule changes include requiring that racing fuel contain 5.7% biofuel and eliminating a ten-minute period during qualifying in which idling cars burned through fuel. Next season will debut a new device that fuels short bursts of speed with kinetic energy stored during vehicle deceleration.