Formula 1 said that it would be monitoring the Australian bushfire crisis before the 2020 season starts in Melbourne on 13th March.

Australia has witnessed one of the worst fire seasons in its history. The bushfires have devastated a record-breaking 8.4 million hectares, which significantly exceeds the total area of Scotland.

Meanwhile, the air quality in Melbourne and Sydney has reached unhealthy levels as the fire rages across Victoria and New South Wales.

F1 authorities claimed to be constantly in touch with the race organisers in this matter.

In case the race doesn't happen on its planned date, rescheduling the event might prove to be extremely difficult. The 2020 season's F1 calendar features a record 22 races. Thus, there is little to no room for other rounds to be added.

Ferrari
Formula One Stephen Shaver/AFP

In the meantime, the entire F1 community, which includes the racing teams as well as the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, are planning to offer some form of support to the victims of the bushfires. As of now, the details are still being discussed and nothing has been finalised yet.

Since the fire season started in September, more than 25 people and millions of animals have lost their lives.

The Australian bushfires have devastated a vast area. More importantly, the state where the Grand Prix is about to be held is at the forefront.

When the season starts after two months, F1 might face an image problem because of the volumes of pollutants released during the racing days.

Reportedly, the fires are fuelled by climate change. Last year had been the warmest year ever recorded in Australia. Significantly, F1 is about to fly into the continent with a fleet of long-haul jets. Additionally, over the three days of the event, they would burn carbon for fun and profit.

However, F1 is working hard to combat its foul image because of some of the activities that they conduct in spite of the environmental issues our planet is facing today.

In 2014, they introduced turbo-hybrid engines that provided a revolutionary increase in thermal efficiency. These machines have a thermal efficiency exceeding 50%. This is a significant step towards a green F1 community. Petrol engines have a thermal efficiency of 30% while diesel engines have 40%.

Millions of pounds have been spent on the development of these technologies. Now, the knowledge derived from these technologies is already being used to improve the efficiency of road cars. This has been made possible largely because of the improvement of batteries, electric motors, eTurbos, energy management, and more.