P1 fuel technology attracted attention at last year’s British Grand Prix when Vettel completed a demonstration run of Nigel Mansell’s 1992 championship-winning car using its own fossil-free fuel.
At the time, Vettel said one of the motivations for taking part in the race was to demonstrate that it was possible to continue to use the internal combustion engines of past and present cars in a more sustainable way.
“I’m using carbon-neutral fuel to demonstrate that we can still preserve our history, tradition and culture in motorsport, but do it in a more responsible way,” he explained before the run.
P1 Fuels believes that showcasing its technology in motorsport will help speed up widespread consumer adoption of its products, and the company is already the exclusive supplier to the World Rally Championship.
Now, P1 Fuels co-founder and chief operating officer Benjamin Pochammer has revealed that it has begun working with some F1 team suppliers to evaluate potential future partnerships to see the Grand Prix switch to fully sustainable fuels from 2026.
While F1 is currently working exclusively with Aramco to develop the regulations for the 2026 fuel, P1 said it was already in discussions with the team to see how it could be involved.
“It’s getting to know each other,” Pochammer told Autosport at the Portugal Rally of his company’s relationship with the F1 teams.
“At the moment there is no tender in F1 because Saudi Aramco is the only one in this place.
“But in F1, everyone can drive with a different fuel company. So actually, we do have several F1 racing companies that are already working with the teams and they want to test our product.”
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
While Pochammer didn’t elaborate on which companies and teams they’re talking to, he said it’s an “exciting” possibility — because it could give the public a lot of insight into P1’s product.
“We love racing so it’s exciting,” he said. “But we’re looking at the mass market. We really want to make a difference.
“We really have a vision, that’s the first step, but the second step is going out there and making this fuel available to everyone, because that’s our vision.”
Vettel relationship
While its link to Vettel has been instrumental in raising awareness of the P1 product, Pochammer says their relationship is entirely informal – and simply motivated by Germans wanting to play their part in helping the climate. Caused.
Pochammer added: “In 2015, he said, ‘I need to do something for the climate, I want to race.’ So, there was one main idea.
“It took a few years and now we’ve proven it works on every engine. The regulations are there and the world is watching it.
“He (Vettel) likes what the P1 is doing. He’s not an official ambassador or anything. He’s using it, and virtually wherever he goes, he’s like, ‘Well, I’ll drive your car, but only P1. “We love it.
“Vettel really likes the topic. He’s not doing it for any other reason, he really wants to make a difference.”
Esteban Ocon had a great Sunday afternoon. Across the streets of Monaco, the Frenchman appeared to be at one with his Alps, which eventually even earned him a podium finish. Ocon told a news conference that he looked back on the weekend with a very good feeling.
The Red Bull driver was last in Sunday’s race and was out in Q1 qualifying.
He went on to make five pit stops in a dismal race that saw him twice passed by team-mate and race winner Max Verstappen, who now leads the championship by 39 points.
Although it marked Perez’s first game of the season without scoring, the Mexican said his error was “costly” and “unacceptable”.
He said: “We paid for my mistake and it was very costly. I just have to apologize to my whole team because it was unacceptable for this kind of mistake to be made.
“I have to move on and learn from it, I can’t afford another zero in the tournament.”
Despite the poor finish, Perez had a “very good” start to the race, finishing 15th on lap 30, but dropped back into the standings after a couple of incidents and a period of rain.
He also collided with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen in the corner on lap 34, breaking his front wing.
Perez said he “didn’t know what happened” but was “considerably hurt” by the incident.
He added: “It went well. Unfortunately I hit traffic early on and that put us back where we were. Then it rained and we were one of the last to pit.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C43
“Then I cut the wall and it all became a mess. Me and Magnussen broke my front wing and he just came out of the chicane (deeply) and it went bad.
“When you’re in those positions, you’re always taking a lot of risks.”
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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it had been a “bad weekend” for Perez, blaming the poor result on a crash in qualifying that “put you at a disadvantage”.
He also said Perez was inside Ocon’s maintenance window before getting stuck behind slow-moving traffic.
Horner said: “We took a very aggressive strategy. Stopped on the first lap and you could see how fast he was in the free space and how much the others were saving.
“He actually came back inside the pit window on Esteban Ocon, and then (Logan) Sargeant and the slow car started to struggle and, of course, you couldn’t overtake.
“Then he got involved in a melee with (George) Russell and damaged the front wing. It was just one of those weekends where he got nothing done.
“He saved a lot of money in the pool, so he might need a new pair of underwear after that.
“For him, it’s just one of those weekends where[he should]turn the page and I think for him, the sooner he gets to Barcelona the better.”
Max Verstappen gave a masterclass in the narrow streets of Monte Carlo. The Dutchman once again showed his raw talent, whether in the rain or on dry tarmac. If the Dutchman fails to win, there are still two contenders for the title. Teammate Sergio Perez and his friend Fernando Alonso. Will the Spaniard get another chance at victory soon? Verstappen responded at a press conference.