Prior to the 2025 FIA Formula 3 season, an insightful discussion with Pierre-Alain Michot, Technical Director for both FIA Formula 2 and 3 races, took place. Michot has played an instrumental role in developing Dallara F3 2025 vehicle; an innovative project which marries high performance motorsport engineering with environmental sustainability.
Insights from FIA’s Technical Maverick, Pierre-Alain Michot
Motorsport’s changing landscape has placed increased emphasis on finding balance between top performance and environmental responsibility. For F3 season 2019, this will manifest into an innovative vehicle whose technological development adheres to sustainable principles while remaining environmentally friendly.
Making significant strides over its predecessors, the latest F3 model incorporates various enhancements focusing on performance, safety, and sustainability. For a deeper understanding, we turned to Michot, who shared details about the groundbreaking developments brought to the 2025 F3 car.
Revolutionizing Innovations in the 2025 Model
Mentioning key improvements, Michot highlighted substantial modifications aligning with the most recent FIA safety standards. Upgrades include a comprehensive revision of the safety structure, such as chassis and crash boxes, and an increase in tire size to parallel those used in F1 and F2 races. Most notably, the 2025 model will transition to using 100% sustainable fuel. Additionally, efforts are made towards integrating recycled carbon into the vehicle’s construction to foster sustainability.
Anticipated Impact of Sustainable Fuels on Performance
Discussing the implications of eco-friendly fuels, Michot expressed optimism, anticipating no compromise on performance or reliability. The development phase evidenced improvements over traditional fuels, promising a slight reduction in consumption without affecting the vehicle’s performance metrics. The adaptation process for teams involves meticulous selection and testing of fuels to ensure optimal engine compatibility and performance.
Striking a Balance: Performance Meets Sustainability
The endeavor to embed sustainability into high-performance racing introduces unique challenges, notably in utilizing recycled materials. Michot elaborated on the delicate balance between incorporating more sustainable materials, like recycled carbon, and managing their impact on the vehicle’s weight and consequently, its fuel and tire consumption. Efforts have been made to use recycled carbon in non-structural parts of the vehicle, achieving a significant milestone in green material sourcing.
Behind-the-Scenes: Reducing Emissions and Waste
Michot shed light on the ongoing efforts to curtail emissions and waste throughout the production process and race weekends. While specific outcomes are still being assessed, the overarching goal is to decrease CO2 emissions significantly. This initiative extends to the manufacturing processes, aiming for reduced material consumption and thereby, lower emissions.
Michot was asked by Racing Post about the future direction of F3 vehicles regarding environmental friendliness. In response he highlighted their research and development of eco-friendly fuels and materials as evidence of long-term commitment towards greener engineering practices within motorsport.
Michot’s Engineering Pride
Michot took pride in helping bring his 2025 F3 car into reality despite many challenges, which proved emotionally fulfilling and significant achievements for him as recognized by its performance on track and teams’ collective efforts. Michot felt immense pride seeing their efforts payoff on track with successful lap times achieved thanks to collective team efforts; an accomplishment for which he holds immense pride.