Formula 1 fuel revolution: how Audi is tackling the sustainable engineering war

The launch of Formula 1’s 2026 regulations marked one of the most comprehensive technical resets in grand prix history. Alongside radically redesigned aerodynamic platforms and heavily updated power unit architectures, the championship introduced Advanced Sustainable Fuels—a pioneering development battleground where constructors and their technical suppliers are pushing relentlessly to balance peak engine performance against strict reliability limits.

Behind closed laboratory doors, this revolution has unleashed a furious engineering race that is reshaping how internal combustion power is conceived, refined, and deployed on track.

The Engineering Challenge Behind 100% Sustainable Fuels

Under the 2026 ruleset, Advanced Sustainable Fuels are produced from strictly defined circular sources. These include direct carbon capture—extracting CO2 directly from ambient air or industrial point-source emissions—as well as municipal solid waste and non-food biomass.

Often categorized in technical terminology as “drop-in” fuels, these chemical formulations are tailored to replace traditional petroleum hydrocarbons without necessitating structural or mechanical redesigns inside the engine. In theory, the fundamental science behind these blends means they can be utilized directly in standard road cars.

However, crafting a competition fuel capable of meeting the forensic standards of modern Grand Prix racing without fossil precursors required technical partners to scrap decades of institutional know-how.

For Audi, entering the grid as a full works outfit with an all-new proprietary power unit developed at its Neuburg facility, the challenge demanded an intensive collaborative program alongside technical partner BP. Before turning a wheel at the Barcelona Shakedown in January, BP conducted exhaustive laboratory research that included:

• Screening 70 individual fuel components for thermodynamic and chemical viability.
• Formulating and evaluating 400 pilot fuel samples.
• Bench-testing 200 distinct fuel blends inside Audi’s bespoke power unit.
• Delivering 240,000 litres of experimental test fuel directly to Neuburg.

Luc Jolly, BP’s Motorsports Technology Fluid Lead, highlighted the extraordinary scope of the task when speaking with F1.com:

“There are two things here. One is that Audi are a new team, with a brand-new power unit, working to a new regulation set, and secondly, there’s the Advanced Sustainable Fuels requirement.”

“We know the types of fuel components, molecules, additives and things that have typically worked well in F1 engines in the past, but essentially, all of the fossil-based componentry that we’d normally use, and was very well established, was not available to us.”

“We’ve had to kind of start from scratch in terms of what works really well in the Audi engine, while that’s been developing, and then once we know what works, how do we do that in an advanced, sustainable way, that the FIA will approve?”

The Fine Line: Balancing Maximum Output with Reliability

In Formula 1 engine design, power and durability exist in constant friction. When entering a fresh regulatory cycle with an untested fuel landscape, that trade-off becomes even more delicate. Sporting regulations strictly limit the total number of engine allocations each competitor may utilize across a season, punishing excessive wear with severe grid penalties.

Engineers are forced to operate in a high-stakes envelope: extract the greatest calorific value and combustion efficiency possible without triggering engine failures or over-engineering the assembly.

“For people like me, it’s an awesome technical challenge,” Jolly explained. “That is why we like F1. Yes, it’s about the drivers, the fans, the passion, and all those kinds of things, but it’s also a technical sport. If you didn’t get these new things coming along that shake things up a bit, it wouldn’t be F1, would it?”

“F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport and engineering, and with anything in engineering there’s that trade-off between performance, how well something’s going to perform, and how much margin we have to leave in terms of reliability.”

“Obviously we have the regulations in F1 around how many engines you can use per year, and the ideal scenario is that you don’t over-engineer. That’s a major consideration. We’re trying to find the sweet spot of being just reliable enough, so you unlock the maximum performance, and that’s not something you necessarily absolutely nail in year one.”

“The competition in F1 is absolutely brutal. Everyone’s got talented people, right? But we’re on that journey, and it’s about who develops the quickest, and we think this year we’re building really strong foundations.”

Across the paddock, technical departments are engaged in an identical scramble. While teams push through upgrade packages at various circuits—as Mercedes targets Malaysian GP for major upgrade to reignite qualifying pace—the quiet, invisible gains made through fuel formulation remain a primary lever for sustained track performance.

The Driver’s Perspective: Gabriel Bortoleto on the Technical Learning Curve

For drivers navigating the dawn of the 2026 regulations, the sheer depth of engineering required behind the steering wheel presents an enormous educational curve.

Gabriel Bortoleto, who entered Formula 1 with Sauber in 2025 before the outfit fully transitioned into Audi’s factory works entry, admitted to being captivated by the molecular complexity behind his new machine.

“We were downstairs just before you guys came in and had a chat,” Bortoleto noted, gesturing toward Jolly. “I was asking him all my questions, and I had so many more questions that I would [end up asking him] for the rest of the day!”

“It’s funny, because I grew up literally driving, driving, driving, driving, and you keep driving and evolving your techniques on the driving side, but when you reach F1, it’s a completely different world. It’s all about innovation, it’s all about bringing upgrades to the car, to the engine, in the fuel, in every component in the car.”

“I feel like my life has changed in the last year in that sense. I was used to driving with one chassis, with one fuel supplier, with one engine supplier all my life, and now it’s a different topic. With BP and Audi, it has been completely different, and it’s been very interesting so far to learn about many of these topics.”

Bortoleto’s role in fuel development is anchored directly in sensory and empirical track feedback:

“My part and my involvement can only be once I jump in the car on the track, and I give feedback. I don’t go to the lab and tell the guys, ‘Look, I need more!’ I just give the feedback of what I feel about the engine, and then that passes through the areas it needs to go.”

Jolly confirmed how essential that loop is to the ongoing engineering cycle:

“It’s an important part of it. We’re continually looking for the next upgrade, the next optimisations. Now that we’re racing, there is information coming back from the engineers at the track, which will have come from the drivers. Even though me and Gabi aren’t talking every day, it’s part of the whole picture.”

The Next Frontier: Rule Adjustments and Road Relevance

The development trajectory for Advanced Sustainable Fuels is far from reaching a plateau. In the opening campaign of an entirely new era, the scope for thermodynamic optimization remains wide open.

“There’s always scope for continuing to develop,” Jolly confirmed. “In the first year of a new regulation cycle, and you’ll see it with all the teams, it’s that race of bringing upgrades, bringing more performance. I don’t think anyone would be in a position this year where they’re thinking there’s no more performance to be had – there’s plenty more.”

That developmental slope will become even steeper as the regulatory landscape shifts further. Adjustments planned for 2027 will increase the mandated fuel flow rate to rebalance the relationship between internal combustion output and electrical energy deployment. That revision alone will transform fuel dynamics inside the combustion chamber.

“The other key thing to mention is with the regulations being adjusted [for 2027], and the increased fuel flow to rebalance the combustion power versus the electrical power, that is going to bring opportunities, and that will change fundamentally how the fuel performs in the engine,” Jolly stated.

“It’s a lot more complicated than just putting more fuel in. It really alters the dynamics inside the engine. So, I think even if it wasn’t for that, there would be more to do, but now there’s kind of change on change being added.”

Bridging Grand Prix Innovation to Consumer Transport

While Grand Prix competition serves as the immediate proving ground, the broader technological value of Advanced Sustainable Fuels extends far beyond the Formula 1 pit lane.

The practical viability of drop-in sustainable solutions has already been showcased through high-profile historic runs. Sebastian Vettel’s ‘Race Without Trace’ initiative demonstrated that non-fossil fuels can power iconic legacy machinery, having successfully run Nigel Mansell’s Williams FW14B, Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/8, and his own title-winning Red Bull RB9 on sustainable alternatives.

For technical giants like BP, the data harvested at race circuits directly informs the commercial engineering pipeline for everyday consumer products, including its BP Ultimate line of road fuels.

“In terms of some of the componentry, the additive chemistry, and how you make the combustion work better, the processes… those are the types of things we’re learning,” Jolly explained.

“At the moment, my team and I are fully focused on giving Audi the best performance possible, but we are part of the same team that’s developing BP Ultimate road fuels. We’re very well connected, we’re sharing learnings. As we’re going through this, we’re considering what from the stuff that we’re doing in the F1-dedicated team could potentially be of benefit to road fuel customers.”

“Again, it’s about the journey, and we’re on that journey. The development cycle for F1 has to be very quick, and commercial stuff tends to take a bit longer. So, it’s a little bit down the road, but we’re on the learning journey with them.”

With the 2026 development race unfolding at an extraordinary pace and further rule adjustments on the horizon for 2027, the chemistry powering Formula 1’s combustion engines has become one of the most critical and defining technical battlegrounds in modern motorsport.