Carbon Footprint of Fuel Consumption in Formula 1 (Part I)

The intention of this three-part article is three-fold: 

1. To evaluate the approximate carbon footprint (CO₂ emissions released) on exclusively the race days, due to fuel consumption of the 22 cars to complete the race;
2. To evaluate the number of laps, length per unit lap and the consequent total race distance covered by the 22 cars for a single race; and
3. A sensitivity analysis on possible reduction in CO₂ emissions, due to a marginal increase in fuel mileage of the cars.

I have explained the analysis, in a very simple way; hence, everyone should have a fair idea on what actually goes on behind the analysis. Part one is down below: 

At a stage when the world (Europe, and to a lesser extent America and Australia) is aggressively addressing the climate change problem (reducing CO₂ emissions), I at least wanted to provide an approximate idea on the carbon footprint of our sport.

It is indeed our responsibility to strive towards sustainability, with us being the pinnacle of motor sport.

A ton of carbon dioxide can be sold for Є23 or $3 in the carbon trading market as of today, hence reducing carbon emission does have actual monetary value that can be realized.

Do keep in mind, that this is only a part of the carbon complete footprint that our sport exerts on Planet Earth in a year. 

Since I wanted to calculate the carbon footprint exerted on race days due to fuel consumption, the total number of laps, unit lap distance (distance of one lap in every race), and the total race distance influence the fuel consumed by the twenty two cars to complete the race.

Total race distance (km) = Total no. of laps in a race x Distance of a single lap (km) 

I gathered data from f1.com and calculated the total distance traveled by the cars in each race.  

As one can imagine, the race distance these days are predominantly governed by the television timings available (approximately 1.5 hours per race). Hence the circuits with short (lesser time consuming) laps, have higher total number of laps and vice versa. 

Interlagos has higher total number of laps than Spa because, it takes more time to complete a lap in Spa, when compared to Interlagos.

The constraint is the total time it takes to complete a race. As in, the total race distance will always remain more or less the same; the number of laps will be adjusted based on the length of a single lap to abide by the constraint of 1.5 hours per race. 

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