Although emissions from cars are a tiny percentage of the pollution produced by motorsport, they’re the most obvious element.
Compared to the carbon dioxide produced by the vehicles themselves, tyre particulate pollution is a less obvious concern. But these too are a source of potentially harmful emissions – one the sport is increasingly realising it must address.
Motorsport needs the involvement of manufacturers and suppliers, especially at its highest and most expensive echelons. That means presenting an image which isn’t at odds with the automotive sector in general.
At a time when the sport’s environmental credentials are rightly under scrutiny – both in terms of electrification and in supply chain and production line transformation – manufactures and the companies that supply them (such as tyre producers) are in a bind between what’s been viewed as the way to promote good competition and the need for a balance between performance and reliable efficiency.
No one has ever pretended that running through thousands of tyres over a race weekend is environmentally friendly. Taking F1 as an example, each driver currently receives 20 four-tyre sets per ordinary weekend, while the series will trial a reduction at two rounds next year. Over a 23-race season, this comes to well over 9,000 tyres, and that’s before testing is taken into consideration.
High-degradation tyres can deliver performance gains but, by their nature, are highly disposable items. Road tyres, however, are likely to become one of the next frontlines for automotive environmental strife for two reasons. These are a growing awareness of tyre particulate pollution as cities fight to improve air quality and the rising likelihood of a global shortage of rubber (the only solutions to which could be even worse, environmentally, than rubber’s original proliferation as a crop).
Not well-rubbered
F1 tyres are made from natural rubber and petrol derivatives, as well as fabrics and…