Autosport reporter points to fuel as an overlooked F1 battleground

Under Formula 1’s 2026 rules, fuel must be made entirely from sustainable sources. Autosport reporter Ronald Vording argues in a 1 October opinion feature that the competition between fuel suppliers deserves more attention alongside the debate over energy management. His view is that fuel could be an important performance differentiator.

The rules described by Autosport require the origins of fuel ingredients to be traceable and replace the previous mass-flow limit with an energy-flow limit of 3,000 megajoules per hour. ExxonMobil, which supplies fuel and lubricants to both Red Bull teams, says developing its 2026 fuel took three years. Its global motorsports technology director, Matti Alemayehu, told Autosport that the work involved 75 people and tests of hundreds of formulations.

Alemayehu said ExxonMobil’s fuel was certified in late 2025. He said its track laboratory now takes almost 100 fuel and lubricant samples each race weekend, with the results feeding into development for the following season.