Irish Examiner view: A sport on its way towards redundancy

The F1 juggernaut has roared on this season but interest is growing in its greener alternative, FE

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands participating in the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix on July 31. Whichever way you look at it, the 21st century will become the one where petrol combustion becomes redundant. Picture: Attila Kisbenedek/Pool via AP

During last year’s controversy about sponsorship in Formula One, many suggested it is a sport badly out of step with the modern world, consuming enormous levels of fossil fuel, and with a caravan of supporters adding to the world’s carbon footprint at every opportunity.

The F1 juggernaut has roared on this season with dramatic crashes and an ill-tempered face-off between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. But while there is clearly still massive support for the competition, there is rapidly growing interest in its greener and, for many young people, cooler, more responsible alternative: FE.