Formula 1 is making serious progress on its net zero target, confirming a 35% reduction in its carbon footprint compared to 2018 levels. The championship announced on Wednesday that total emissions dropped by 12% versus 2024, with nearly 80,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent stripped out of operations since its sustainability programme launched. This isn’t window dressing — the numbers are moving in the right direction.
F1 Net Zero 2030: How the Numbers Stack Up
To put the scale of that reduction into perspective, it is the equivalent of one person flying over 500 million kilometres — roughly 12,500 laps of the earth — or 100,000 one-way passenger flights between London and New York. Staggering figures. Furthermore, the gains are spread right across the operation, not just in one convenient corner. Factory and facility emissions have plummeted 64% since 2018, travel emissions are down 27%, and logistics emissions have fallen 29%. Even event operations emissions dropped 6%, despite the calendar growing from 21 races in 2018 to a record 24 rounds across 19 countries in 2025.
It is worth remembering just how vast Formula 1’s carbon footprint actually is. The sport moves thousands of tonnes of equipment around the planet every fortnight, running a global logistics network, a travelling broadcast operation, and race-event infrastructure on a scale most organisations could barely imagine. Eleven teams are just the tip of the iceberg.
Sustainable Fuel Investment and Freight Changes Drive Progress
Consequently, the biggest gains have come from freight and logistics reform, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) investment, renewable energy projects, and factory-level efficiency drives. Crucially, the championship confirmed that for the first time, lower-carbon solutions are now active across all three major freight modes — land, air, and sea. F1 doubled its SAF investment compared to 2024, cutting air charter emissions by around 40%, and also made its first investment in sustainable maritime fuel during the 2025 season.
Looking ahead, Formula 1 plans to shift more freight away from air transport entirely, expanding sea freight and regional logistics hubs. More than half of its broadcast and related airfreight will be removed from air transport completely by 2030. Championship chief executive and president Stefano Domenicali put it plainly: “We have reduced our footprint while the sport continues to grow and reach new audiences around the world.” The target is net zero by 2030 — and right now, the sport looks like it means business.
