By Phil Huff
February 26 2007

Honda Racing F1's new livery is a call to action for fans, sponsors, customers and members of the public to help address global environmental issues, but it's fair to say that Formula One isn't exactly the most environmentally friendly sport. "We're not saying F1 is 'green'," says John Kingston, Environment Manager at Honda UK. "But the fans can really make a difference. If just one per cent of the people who watch Formula 1 were to change one light bulb for an energy saving one, this would save 38,000 tonnes of CO2 – the same amount of carbon emissions produced by the Honda Racing F1 team over three seasons."

Honda Racing F1 admit that painting the cars will do nothing to save the environment, but is intended to generate interest and debate. The target is to win the world championship while also embracing Honda's environmental ethos.

To that end, Honda engineers with F1 experience are already working on more environmentally friendly technology. Takeo Kiuchi, who engineered both Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna to world titles with Honda, was the project leader for Honda's first hybrid power development programme, and now heads Honda's research into alternative engine technology.

However, the work now involved in F1 will directly influence the future of road cars, especially form Honda. "I’ll give you the perfect example," explained Nick Fry to RealHondaF1.com. "These things decelerate from 200mph to 50mph in a couple of seconds. The amount of energy dissipated is huge. What we’re trying to do is capture that energy in a couple of seconds, store it in a capacitor of some kind, and then use it later in the lap to accelerate out of the corners.

"Today a hybrid road car does pretty much that, but it does it in a much more controlled situation," he continues. "In fact it’s a fairly inefficient system and it weighs a lot. In 2009 we are going to have to do that with a unit that weighs 20 kilos or less.

"If it was in a road car situation, it might be an R&D project that goes on for five or so years, so by chucking extremely motivated formula one engineers its much more likely to be developed that much more quickly and then it can go on to a road car."

Part of the marketing plan is also to attract new supporters, both commercial and individual, and that's where myearthdream.com comes in, giving the opportunity for members of the public to have their names on the car. Via the website, fans can make a pledge to change their lifestyle to improve the environment and make a donation to an environmental charity. In return, their name will form a tiny individual pixel on the F1 car, which will help build the image of planet earth. Each name will be visible under a microscope on the car and on the website when making the pledge.

The Honda Racing F1 Team will work closely with global environmental charities to develop Honda’s existing environmental ethos within the world’s most high profile motor-sport. Revenue from sales at myearthdream.com, money from pixel purchases, and a portion of the sponsor fees, will all go into the pot to be distributed to charities, such as the WWF or Greenpeace, from there.

If that's the case, perhaps painting a car can make a difference.