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“Fuel efficiency and speed do not go hand in hand” is a Myth.
The Ferrari F1 machine
Contrary to popular belief, F1 cars are actually very Fuel Efficient for the amount of speed and performance they have. At one point of time, a few years back, Honda actually Won races back to back just because they had to carry lesser fuel in their energy efficient cars to complete the races. Less fuel translates to lesser weight, and lesser weight translates to better efficiency and speed. We can all see how that learning has translated into much efficient street cars from Honda.
The Honda F1 car, one of the most fuel efficient in the game
Rear of a Renault F1 car
Top view of a Renault F1 car
Some F1 numbers.
Race fuel consumption rate is normally around 75 liters per 100 kilometers traveled (3.1 US mpg – 3.8 UK mpg – 1.3 km/l). Nonetheless a Formula One engine is over 20% more efficient at turning fuel into power than most small commuter cars, considering their craftsmanship.
Source: Wikipedia
Many argue about the Carbon Footprint of each race, but they fail to imagine the reduction in Carbon Footprint of all vehicles benefitting from these races. Yes F1 is a testing ground for engineers (the best of them) from around the world.
It’s not quite the same type of hybrid drive-train you’d see in street vehicles, but in an exciting announcement, Max Mosely of F1 has announced that all cars will become hybrid by 2013, along with other changes to the vehicles.
Source: gas2.org
It’s not all that bad, but having them not to consume any fuel will be a real challenge.