What MPG Does an F1 Car Do? - Motorsport Explained (2024)

By Stefan Kristensen

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October 2, 2022

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Formula One

Formula One racecars are some of the fastest cars on the planet. Sure, there are faster cars out there but they’re specially designed types that break land speed records. When these lightweight speed demons are really pouring it on, how many miles are they getting per gallon?

The typical Formula One race car is about 7.1 miles per gallon. That’s a judgment call by professionals, guessing at the mpg because Formula One race teams don’t have to release their miles per gallon statistics. If they don’t release them, no one knows.

Fuel consumption in an F1 racecar is also a byproduct of what the car is designed to do. Teams are always trying to gain an advantage in aerodynamics. The weight of the cars is very light, considering the horsepower, efficiency, and raw power under the hood.

What Kind of Fuel Do Formula One Cars Use?

The fuel that goes into F1 racecars is every bit as extravagant as the oil, with a little more regulating power from the officials. The Octane has to be 87 as a minimum. Formula One can go higher than that as much as they want to but no lower.

However, you’re never going to see 87 octanes out there on the racetrack, in any of the Formula One cars. The typical octanes are between 95 and 102. You’ll never see that kind of octane at your local gas station.

Like they can with oil, each team is free to tinker with the formulation that goes into whatever octane they’re using at the moment. You also have to consider the biofuel component as well. The rules dictated by F1 allow for a blend of ethanol, up to 10%.

According to F1’s PR department, F1 racing will shift to 100% sustainable fule no later than 2025. How much that will change the dynamics of the cars out on the track remains to be seen.

The largest level of optimizations per team revolves around the type of racecar and engine their cars are running. Teams are allowed to tweak the fuel formulas according to the racecar they’re working on.

Is the Same Fuel Used in All Formula One Racecars?

The fuel that goes into F1 cars is pretty regulated, with the exception of a window of leniency within the constraints of specific engines. However, every race team has its own brand of fuel. There may be the same brands of fuel across a few teams but their tweaks are all different.

Each team has its own “power unit,” which isn’t a device so much as a descriptor for the whole of the vehicle. These “power unit” providers are Ferrari, Red Bull Powertrains, Renault, and Mercedes.

These providers both build and deliver engines to the individual teams and some of them also deliver the fuel. The following providers provide fuel for their individual teams and, in some cases, they provide the engine as well:

That’s a lot of different teams getting fuel from a lot of different providers. Each team also tweaks the formula to perfection for their individual cars, under the constraints of the Formula One rules. Of course, even with all that work, 7.1mpg is the best they can get out of it.

How Much Fuel Does an F1 Car Hold?

A Formula One racecar holds about 26 to 28 gallons in the fuel tank. According to Formula One rules, the cars can hold no more than 105kg. The weight limitation makes sense, with extreme aerodynamics and safety concerns on the track.

Also, according to the rules of Formula One racing, the fuel load has to last the entirety of the race. This is a major reason the different teams spend so much time perfecting the fuel mixtures in their cars.

If you were to look underneath a Formula One car, you would be surprised at the size of the tank. It's not as big as you would think. That’s because there are large pipes and tubes running through the bottom of the vehicle that carries those fuel loads.

In 2010, refueling in the middle of a race was banned. The Formula One race cars have to have enough fuel to make it through an entire race, which should be no more than around 190 miles. The calculations on fuel consumption and longevity are intense and critical to the success of the driver and their car.

The fact that an F1 race car has a range of about 190 miles, means those fuel calculations better be extremely accurate because they will be running on fumes when they cross the finish line.

Engine Control Technology

As hard as they try to get the fuel consumption level absolutely perfect, it doesn’t always work out that way. Fortunately, there is a level of control the driver has over this very thing. If they look up, ¾ of the way through the race, and they are consuming too much fuel for the remainder of the race, they can change the engine operation.

Once they flip the switch, the engine is basically tuned down so it does not consume so much fuel, allowing them to finish the race. Of course, impeccable timing is necessary because drivers don’t need their car in fuel preservation mode in the thick of the race.

There are a number of complex controls, mixtures, and calculations that go into a Formula One race car’s fuel consumption. Fortunately, F1 engineers are up to the task.

Bottom Line

Formula One racecars get about 7.1mpg on their cars. Their fuel efficiency has to be so precise that the car can travel 190 miles without running out of fuel. That’s despite the fact that the cars can really only go 190 miles. Its an engineering marvel that F1 cars rarely ever run out of fuel before the finish line.

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Written by Stefan Kristensen

I have been passionate about motorsports ever since I was a little boy. Back then, I cheered on the racing cars simply based on their colors. Later I fell in love with the many technical features, strategic plays, humans and their stories that all together drives this amazing sport to make it as interesting as it is.

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1 Comment

  1. If the 'fuel efficiency' or 'thermal efficiency' of current F1 power units was replicated on ordinary road cars, what mpg could you expect when driving at 55mph?

    Reply

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What MPG Does an F1 Car Do? - Motorsport Explained (2024)

FAQs

What MPG Does an F1 Car Do? - Motorsport Explained? ›

Whereas, an F1 car, which can cost as high as $16 million (as per Red Bull's official website) can only deliver at around 6.2 mpg, at most, 7 mpg on a race track like Monaco. In 2021, Mercedes devised a clever technique, later copied by others, to derive the best thermal efficiency from their power units.

What MPG do F1 cars do? ›

The average race fuel consumption of a F1 car is 75 liters per 100 Kilometers (or 4 mpg). The average length of a lap is 5 km and the number of laps is usually around 60. That gives an average total race distance of 300 km.

How much fuel does an F1 car use in a race? ›

Formula 1 - 110 kilograms per race

F1 cars can use a maximum of 110 kilograms of fuel per race (305km / 190 miles), however they don't always fill the car with that much fuel. This is because the more fuel a car starts with the heavier it is, and the more lap time it costs.

How fuel efficient are F1 engines? ›

F1 regulations also limit the cars to 110 kilograms of fuel, or the equivalent of 36.7 gallons. To achieve the necessary power and efficiency, F1 engines achieve a peak thermal efficiency above 50 percent, significantly higher than a modern passenger car's 35 percent thermal efficiency.

How many miles per gallon does a NASCAR get? ›

Fuel consumption

At race speeds, Cup Series cars get 2 to 5 miles per gallon. Consumption under caution can be estimated at 14-18 mpg, based on comparable engines generally available to the public.

Is F1 fuel high octane? ›

Formula One fuel would fall under high octane premium road fuel with octane thresholds of 95 to 102. Since the 1992 season onwards all Formula One cars must mandatorily utilize unleaded racing gasoline fuel. F1 blends are tuned for maximum performance in given weather conditions or different circuits.

Do F1 cars refill gas? ›

Refuelling does not happen in any of the Formula-derived races, as well as MotoGP, but is still common practice in some other motorsports. For example, IndyCar, NASCAR and the World Endurance Championships all still refuel due to different race styles.

Why was Refuelling banned in F1? ›

Why was refuelling banned in F1? Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, banned refuelling during the race in 2010, after safety concerns for the drivers. It had previously been impossible to implement the rule as the fuel tanks inside the car were too small.

Is a Formula 1 car faster than an Indy car? ›

Based solely on top speeds, then IndyCar wins out – Scott Dixon took pole for the 2022 Indy 500 with a 234mph run. The 'usual' top speed for a Formula 1 car is around 205mph, although Valtteri Bottas hit 231mph while slipstreaming at the high-altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City in 2016.

How long do F1 engines last? ›

Formula 1 engines are designed to last for plenty of races but since racers are allowed three changes per year, teams have to devise their strategies accordingly. That means, since there are 23 races on the calendar, a single engine can be used for 7 to 8 races weekends.

How many horsepower is an F1 car? ›

Current Formula 1 engines generate up to 1,000 hp from just 1.6 liters of displacement, and now Engineering Explained has video breaking down the details that make that possible. Technically, Formula 1 cars have "power units," not "engines," as the 1.6-liter turbocharged V-6 is just one part of a hybrid powertrain.

What engine do most F1 cars use? ›

Operation. Formula One currently uses 1.6 litre four-stroke turbocharged 90 degree V6 double-overhead camshaft (DOHC) reciprocating engines. They were introduced in 2014 and have been developed over the subsequent seasons.

What is the world's most efficient engine? ›

Originally designed to burn diesel, dual-fuel, or gasoline for tankers and container ships, the Wärtsilä 31 marine engine gets a new life generating clean, renewable electricity.

What octane is NASCAR fuel? ›

The specialized NASCAR fuel is Sunoco Green E15, a 98 octane, unleaded fuel blend specifically engineered for high-performance engines and race cars. It's called Green E15 because the racing fuel is actually green in color.

How big is a F1 fuel tank? ›

Formula 1 Fuel Tanks today has the capacity of 30 gallons. However, this space-saving and safety-driven design can hold 110 liters or kilograms of fuel, the maximum allowed for a race.

Is NASCAR growing or declining? ›

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season was the least-watched season on record, according to Sports Media Watch. Ratings dropped 5 percent last year to an average of 2.86 million viewers per race and 12 of the final 13 races saw declined TV viewership from 2022.

How many gallons of gas are in a F1 car? ›

IndyCar machines use E85 fuel (85% ethanol) and a tank holds 18.5 gallons. F1 car dimensions: Minimum weight 1,759 pounds; about 37 inches tall; about 78 inches wide; tires are 18 inches in diameter. F1 cars use fuel with 10% ethanol and a tank holds 28.6 gallons.

How many miles per gallon does a McLaren F1 get? ›

On a diet of unleaded premium, it still returns 19.3 mpg at highway speeds. Thrash the car and it drops to just 9 mpg. Crucial to the McLaren's handling excellence are three key factors: the central driving position, the car's diminutive dimensions, and a unique patented suspension system.

What do F1 cars burn for fuel? ›

F1 currently uses E10 fuel, which contains 10 percent renewable ethanol, while Formula Two and Formula Three used a 55 percent “drop-in” sustainable fuel during the 2023 season. But come 2026, F1 will use 100 percent sustainable fuel with its new era of power units.

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