Hydrogen power for F1 cars "inevitable"

If you thought the return of four-cylinder Formula One cars sounded bad, this may leave you silent.

The roar of Formula One engines is on track to be replaced by the hum of a hydrogen fuel-cell powering an electric motor.

Jean Todt, the president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the peak motorsports body, believes electric- and hydrogen-powered F1 cars are "inevitable".

Race fans are already up in arms over the fact that the fastest race cars in world will switch from 2.4-litre V8s to 1.6-litre turbo four-cylinder power in two years -- now it has emerged they could be powered by alternative fuels by the end of the decade.

During a brief visit to Australia this week, when asked about alternative energy in F1, Todt said bluntly:

"It’s essential ... Formula One as a sport has to be the pinnacle of technology, in this respect it must have a strong link with what is happening in modern society.

"You cannot be blind ... without considering what is happening around you in the world."

Todt (pictured here in his earlier role as head of Ferrari's F1 team) said he has visited car makers in Japan and Europe over the past 12 months and came away impressed by how advanced they were with the development of electric and hydrogen-powered cars.

"And they already have a vision for 2020," he said. "Times are changing and the cars will change. It will definitely happen. It's a fascinating period to think about the sport ... to foresee what will be the situation in five, ten, fifteen years. Everything is changing at high speed."

When asked if he thought F1 would be more likely to embrace hydrogen instead of pure electric power, he said: "I'm a manager, not an engineer, but a lot of my success as a manager is having good engineers. Talking to engineers and trying to understand what they are developing, I'm more of a believer in hydrogen technologies in the future rather than electric."

He said pure-electric cars were better suited to city use rather than long distance driving or racing.

Todt also said motorsport enthusiasts should not panic. "If we look two or three decades behind, the sport changed so much as well."

He said any changes would involve close collaboration with the car industry and race teams.

"As is the case with the [2013 engine downsizing plans] it is not something which has been imposed without consultation with the F1 championship," he said. "It has been the result of lengthy detailed discussions with all the stakeholders involved in -- and potentially involved in -- the future of F1.

"We must end up with this result which takes into account new technology and the evolution of society. We have already applied it to world rallying [1.6 turbo engines] and we will apply to each world championship going forward."

In the meantime, the switch to 1.6 turbo power will mean that Formula One has come full circle -- F1 cars in the 1960s were powered by 1.5-litre four-cylinder engines, either turbocharged or supercharged.

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