Lowe returns to F1 with Sauber via Zero sponsorship deal

Lowe is the founder and CEO of the carbon-neutral synthetic fuel concern, whose early investors include 1996 world champion Damon Hill. 

Sauber uses Shell fuel and lubricants, but is free to sell sponsorship to other companies in the sector. As previously reported, it has concluded a deal with US brand Sunoco for the three American races.

Zero will feature on the Swiss cars at all other events for the next two years, prior to the switch to Audi identity in 2026.

Lowe was last involved in F1 as chief technical officer of Williams, leaving the job in early 2019.

“We’re here mainly to just bring the message about synthetic fuel technology, and how exciting it is,” Lowe told Motorsport.com. “So of course, we look to 2026, which will be a year of bringing in 100% sustainable fuels, and those can be either second-generation biofuels or synthetic fuels.

“So we’re all about synthetics, it’s an incredibly exciting element for the future of F1, and the world as a whole.”

Lowe believes that synthetic fuels will have an important role to play globally in the future.

“To tell you that eventually the whole world will run on synthetic fuel rather than fossil fuel may sound unbelievable,” he said.

“But it is absolutely the case. This is a problem that perhaps gets kicked around down the road too much. But synthetic fuels will become as cheap or eventually cheaper than fossil fuels.

“That’s in prospect, because it’s a pure technology solution, we make our fuels simply from air and water, and renewable energy, so that there is no limit to the amount that can be made. 

“It may not be in my lifetime, but the world will look back and say why just did we not just do that so much earlier?

“There’s a great example, in F1, when we brought in long-life engines. If you recall, an engine used to last 300 kilometres, if you were lucky, on a Sunday. And now you have three or four for the year. Incredible. And now you look back and think, why didn’t we introduce that constraint before?

“And this will be the case with fossil fuel versus synthetic fuel. So we’re here to bring that message, because so few people know about it. And so aligning it with F1, is also just the most fantastic thing, because we share the same culture, the culture of innovation.

“We’ve seen what F1 did for hybrid, bringing along battery technology. The battery electric cars we have today…