Mercedes hauls 99% of its European season on biofuel — and sneaks in a fully electric truck run, too
Mercedes didn’t just chase tenths this summer. It chased tonnes — of CO2 avoided.
The team has confirmed its European convoy ran on HVO100 biofuel for 99% of the miles between Imola and Monza, nudging its logistics program another step forward after hitting 98% last year. It’s the latest iteration of a project that started with small-scale trials in 2022 and grew into a full-season push a year later.
The nuts and bolts: Mercedes used second‑generation HVO100 (hydrotreated vegetable oil) across its fleet of race and hospitality trucks as they pinballed around the continent. The fuel is a drop‑in replacement for regular diesel — no engine tweaks, no special prep, just fill and go. The complication, as ever, is supply. Availability varies from country to country and even route to route, which is why that last one percent keeps slipping away. When a diversion strikes or consumption runs higher than forecast, the team has to “splash and dash” with conventional diesel to stay on schedule.
Still, the numbers are moving in the right direction. Since switching to HVO100 in Europe, Mercedes estimates it’s avoided roughly 1,190 tonnes of CO2e, with lifecycle emissions around 81% lower than standard diesel. The team’s maiden full European attempt in 2023 delivered a 67% emissions reduction against its baseline, beating an internal target of 60%. It improved coverage to 98% in 2024; now it’s 99%.
“Sustainability for us is about innovation that actually changes how we operate,” said Alice Ashpitel, Mercedes’ head of sustainability. She reiterated the broader targets: Net Zero for the race team’s controllable emissions by 2030 and full Net Zero across all scopes by 2040. “Every kilometre we do on biofuel helps close that gap.”
There was another first this season: a fully electric long‑haul. Mercedes sent an eActros 600 to tow its W16 show cars from Brackley to Zandvoort and back — 673 kilometres round‑trip — to prove out charging and routing on a genuine race-week timeline. One run doesn’t make a revolution, but it’s a useful data point as teams look to blend battery trucks into a calendar that doesn’t wait for anyone.
The plan from here is to push HVO100 use beyond Europe as supply chains mature and to add more electric trucks to the fleet. The tougher frontier remains aviation, where most of Formula 1’s footprint lives. Mercedes has been buying into Sustainable Aviation Fuel certificates (SAFc) since 2022 and says it’s on track to quadruple its annual aviation emissions reduction compared to its first year of investment. The team expects a 10,500‑tonne CO2 reduction via SAF in 2025, up from 8,000 tonnes in 2024, with a cumulative 27,500‑tonne cut targeted across 2022–2025.
“A net reduction sits at the heart of how we run,” said team boss and CEO Toto Wolff. “We’re investing in solutions that help us go further, faster — and in the case of SAF, help build the credibility of the certificate market so others follow.”
There’s no mistaking the balancing act. Even with supply partners on board, European HVO100 availability isn’t uniform, and the occasional diesel top‑up will continue to spoil the perfect scorecard. But the trend line is clear. In three seasons, Mercedes has gone from testing to near‑total coverage on the busiest stretch of the calendar — the same stretch where the trucks, motorhomes and showpieces criss‑cross at a frenetic, unforgiving pace.
On track, it’s George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli doing the heavy lifting for the trophy cabinet. Off it, the convoy is quietly finding speed of a different kind. In a sport obsessed with marginal gains, one percent shy of perfect counts as progress — and with another electric truck in the mix and aviation reductions climbing, the next percentage point suddenly feels in range.
