Five F1 teams are facing fuel nightmare at Australian Grand Prix

F1 News & Gossip

Five F1 teams are facing fuel nightmare at Australian Grand Prix

There are new fuels entering F1 this year

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 19 February 2026 17:56 Updated: 23:15

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Several F1 teams could face a major performance inhibitor at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, with reports suggesting that not all of the fuel suppliers have received homologation.

2026 is seeing wholesale power unit regulation changes sweeping into the sport, with the new power units having an almost exact 50-50 split between electrical power and the internal combustion engine (ICE).

But this year, the ICE is able to run off entirely 100 per cent sustainable fuels, helping F1 to reach their goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.

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These 'advanced sustainable fuels' were already trialled in F2 and F3 in 2025, and the fuel is made from sources such as carbon capture, municipal waste and non-food biomass, to adhere to the stricter guidelines.

During the pre-season testing events in Barcelona and Bahrain, the sustainable fuels were not quite ready, meaning all teams used fossil fuels for these nine days of running.

And a new report from AutoRacer.It has revealed only three of the five fuel suppliers of the power unit manufacturers have actually received homologation certification ahead of the new season.

As per the report, Ferrari, Audi and Red Bull's fuel suppliers Shell, BP and ExxonMobil have all received homologation of their sustainable fuels ahead of the March 1 deadline, but Petronas - who supply the Mercedes power units - are in a race against time to achieve this certification.

It's unclear where Aramco are on their sustainable fuel preparations for 2026, with the Saudi Arabian company supplying Honda's power units.

But all of this means Mercedes, McLaren, Alpine, Williams and Aston Martin's ability to use sustainable fuels at the season-opening Australian GP is not yet confirmed, and if they are not certified by March 1, these teams will have to use temporary fuel, which would cause a performance deficit.

What is homologation and how do F1 fuel suppliers receive it?

Homologation is the official certification process in which a product is approved by an authority as compliant with specific safety, environmental, and technical standards.

In F1 in 2026, this involves the verifying of the entire production process, to ensure that the fuels are safe and that it is genuinely a sustainable product that is being burned in the ICE.

The 2026 process of homologation in F1 is arguably harder than it has ever been, with the FIA hiring British company Zemo for the process, and putting a strict deadline of March 1 on the certification process.

The entire supply chain is subject to controls by Zemo, with staff visiting the production facilities directly to ensure that each stage complies with the criteria established by the FIA regulations. The certifications of individual molecules and any partners involved in the supply chain are also being examined this year.

Once Zemo and FIA are happy with the fuel-making process and the end product itself, fuel suppliers are given an official certificate confirming homologation, and it's this certificate that Petronas are yet to be in possession of.

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