KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS) is exploring ways to make its advanced sustainable fuel (ASF) more economical while maintaining its performance, as development continues alongside changes to Formula One’s (F1) power unit regulations.
PETRONAS downstream executive vice-president and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Seri Sazali Hamzah said this remained among the challenges being addressed by the national oil company’s scientists.
“We are also challenging ourselves on how to make it much more economical.
“And that is also part of the challenge that we are facing now. Our scientists are focusing on other options that we can do to make it cheaper, but still maintain the performance,” he said during a media session with Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 team principal and CEO Toto Wolff here yesterday.
Sazali was responding to a question on the implications of changes to the F1 power unit framework for the development of the Mercedes power unit and PETRONAS’ sustainable fuel.
F1 will adjust its power unit regulations in 2027 and 2028 by reducing the amount of electric power available in a move aimed at promoting more flat-out driving.
In 2027, internal combustion engine power will increase by 20 kilowatts (kW) to 420kW, while electric power from the battery will be reduced by 50kW.
Energy harvesting will also increase, shifting the power split between the internal combustion engine and electric components from 53:47 to 58:42, according to International Automobile Federation or FIA data.
A second adjustment will follow in 2028, when internal combustion engine power will increase to 450kW, resulting in a 60:40 split. Wolff said changes to the regulations for next year would allow higher fuel flow to generate more power, requiring the engine and fuel package to be pushed further to accommodate the regulatory changes.
He said, however, the changes would not alter the formula of the sustainable fuel currently being used. “On the engine and fuel side, things need to stretch even more in order to accommodate regulatory change. Keeping a performance advantage, that’s exactly what we want,” said Wolff.
Sazali said F1 provides PETRONAS with opportunities to develop and enhance its fuels and related applications, with technologies developed alongside the power unit potentially translated into everyday applications.
He said the partnership also enabled PETRONAS to develop future fuels and specifications ahead of sustainability requirements, allowing it to be ready when such requirements reached the market.
PETRONAS has been working closely with Mercedes-AMG on the ASF since 2022, following the Singapore race, in preparation for F1’s 2026 regulations, with the fuel used in Mercedes’ F1 cars since the start of this season.
Sazali pointed to the team’s results in the first two races in Australia and China as a testament to what could be achieved when fuel, power unit and vehicle technologies came together as an integrated package.
He also highlighted the Malaysian expertise behind the ASF, saying the fuel was developed by local fuel specialists, with three key personnel involved in its development being Malaysians.
Sazali said PETRONAS had about four years to prepare for the 2026 regulations, adding that moving from scratch to commercial production within that timeframe was a challenging target.
He added that developing the fuel alongside Mercedes’ engine programme allowed adjustments to be made along the way, while PETRONAS also had to ensure the fuel plant was completed on time.
Sazali described sustainable fuel certification as another tedious process as it required greenhouse gas calculations to be evaluated.
He said the knowledge gained from the process would make it easier for PETRONAS to evaluate other options subsequently.
More broadly, Sazali said PETRONAS uses F1 to develop, test and validate fuels, lubricants and other functional fluids under demanding conditions, with lessons from the racetrack applied to products and solutions beyond motorsports.
These include PETRONAS Primax fuels, Syntium lubricants, IONA fluids for electric vehicles and IONA Terra as data-centre cooling medium. Wolff, meanwhile, described the PETRONAS-Mercedes relationship as a technical partnership rather than a conventional sponsorship.
He identified PETRONAS, Mercedes’ chassis operation and its engine operation as the three key hardware and intellectual property contributors to the F1 team. — Bernama
