Mercedes F1 team’s use of HVO hailed a success

The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 team has concluded a trial using biofuels in 16 Mercedes Actros Gigaspace race trucks for the final three races of the European season.
As part of the firm's drive to further reduce its CO2 emissions and achieve verified net-zero by 2030, the trial was designed to understand the level of carbon saving and positive impact that can be achieved using biofuels.
The trial took place between the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa, the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort and the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, a distance of approximately 1,400 km.
Analysis conducted after the trial concluded has shown that the use of HVO 100 biofuel saved 44,091kg CO2 and reduced freight emissions by 89%.
One of the team’s trucks was initially tested and successfully powered by HVO100 biofuel from the Hungarian Grand Prix back to their headquarters in Brackley, UK.
Following this journey, 13 race trucks which spent the summer shutdown in Belgium and three trucks from the UK, used locally sourced biofuel to travel 300km from Spa to Zandvoort and then 1,100 km from Zandvoort to Monza, with only the final 20km requiring the use of diesel fuel due to supply challenges.
Toto Wolff, team principal and CEO of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 team said: “Sustainability is at the heart of our operations. Trialling the use of biofuels for our land freight is another example of our commitment to embed sustainability in every decision we make and action we take.
“We aim to be on the cutting edge of change and hope we can make the adoption of sustainable technology possible as we are all in the race towards a sustainable tomorrow.”