Can Formula 1 ever become sustainable?

Formula 1 racing is increasingly popular, but many have concerns about how sustainable the sport is. Could circular car parts be the answer?

Words:

• To manufacture is to make something, usually using machines in a factory.
• If you repeat a process to improve something step by step, you are iterating it, or making new iterations. 
• To assess something is to carefully examine or judge it to draw conclusions about what to do next.
• A supply chain is the entire process of producing a product or service, from raw materials to the final customer.
• Resilience is the ability to recover quickly from difficulties or to adapt to change.
• Natural resources that are limited and can run out, like oil or fresh water, are called finite resources.
• Branding is giving a particular name, image and logo to a product or service, so that people will easily recognise it as different from others.
• Something that is carbon intensive, like a product or a process, causes a lot of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions.
• Coolant is a liquid used in industrial processes to cool something down, like a machine.
• To penalise means to punish or give a disadvantage to someone. If you break a rule during a race, you might be penalised by having seconds or minutes added to your final time.
• If something is working well, especially in terms of speed or reliability, it is performant.
  

Video:

Watch the video from 0:00-1:17.

1. Which of these statements about the video is true?

A: About 80% of a car gets damaged and needs to be replaced in one season.

B: McLaren is setting new climate goals for the entire F1 league.

C: During the season, McLaren is constantly updating and improving their cars.

D: McLaren has discovered a new way to test their cars in a wind tunnel.

2. McLaren has worked together with Deloitte on a handbook. What is this handbook, and who is it for?

3. At 1:04, Kim Wilson says ‘supply chain resilience’ is a major challenge for the world. Watch this section of the interview closely. Which of these is the correct definition of ‘supply chain resilience’?

A: Supply chain resilience is when a company focuses solely on cost-cutting and innovation, without considering sustainability or long-term risks.

B: Supply chain resilience means producing as much as possible within the environmental or resource limitations.

C: Supply chain resilience is the ability of a supply chain to adapt to changes, such as which resources you can use, while ensuring you can still innovate.

D: Supply chain resilience is about simplifying a product or service so you are less reliant on other industries.

Watch the video from 01:17 – 03:10.

4. Kim Wilson shows a carbon fibre panel. Which three statements about this panel are true?

A: It improves the performance of the car.

B: It takes 90% less carbon to produce. 

C: It’s normally only used in the aerospace industry.

D: It is made from biobased materials. 

E: The panel is used to put logos on. 

F: It’s the same material as other parts of the car, but it’s recycled. 

5. Spencer Ford tells the interviewer more ways the production process is becoming more sustainable. Write down one of the examples he mentions.

Watch from 3:10 to the end of the video.

6. The FIA is the governing body regulating Formula 1 racing. Would Nikolas Tombazis of the FIA agree with the following statement? Explain your answer.

The FIA doesn’t have to make regulations about sustainability, because sustainability is more important to F1 teams than performance of the cars.

7. This video only discusses making the F1 cars more circular and sustainable. What other ways can you think of to make F1 more sustainable? Think about everything that goes into a race, from the driving cars to the audience watching. Look into F1 racing online if you don’t know much about it.

Van de makers van All Right!, Of Course! en Taalblokken Engels