...or... the real reason V8, V10 or V12 engines are back on the work bench for F1.
(Up front foot note: Jane's Addiction were/are an American alternate rock band formed in LA in 1985, that have disbanded and reformed a few times since. Yes there was a Jane, and yes there may well have been addictive items in the band's history. Dave Navarro we are looking at you...)
To cars and engines.
Elon was highly successful in launching Tesla and forcing the big manufacturers to finally design and build functional EVs. This was because he has no connection whatsoever to the oil industry or the existing automotive supply chain. None. For all his ah, eccentric qualities, he is neither a big tobacco man nor a big oil man. This gave him the freedom to romp into the automotive sector and really mess with it.
I believe some of those eccentric qualities of his then amplified this "messin' wit ya'" to levels rarely seen on planet Earth. So keeping oil producers calm, acknowledging the establishment, paying fair dues to government and working with regulators were all optional. And in most cases Elon opted out. A long way out.
EVs go wonderfully with roof top solar, or your own windmill, or waterfall and water wheel should you have space and desire, to eliminate fuel bills. Not reduce them. Not green them. Eliminate them.
That move eliminates income for oil producers, and excise/tax for governments, fuel distributors, petrol (gas) station owners and all those currently turning a dollar off liquefied dinosaurs. We go full EV and in places like Australia, and many other sunny places) where a large number of homes have solar panels and battery packs, and it is good-bye good times for all those black gold dependant folk. Even in cloudy Europe or America, the cash flow moves to electrical power suppliers and away from Big Oil.
Thankfully Saudi Aramco are riding to the rescue for all these poor zillionaires about to see their income streams reduced to zero. Green synthetic fuel is about to save the day for the beloved internal combustion engine (ICE)! Saudi Aramco had revenue of $480.446 billion in 2024, making it one of the most powerful companies on the planet.
Synthetic fuel takes considerable energy to produce, is only 'green' if you do much messing around in production, and if production is poorly executed it can produce net-positive CO2, which kills the entire reason we are trying to go green... to reduce CO2. The big positive is a liquid fuel distribution system already exists, plus Big Oil and global governments are fully addicted to the money. So lots of major players want to ensure the mobile public retain an addiction to liquid fuel in ICE cars. Not "fuel for free" from personal solar panels. Oh no!
Dear reader, do you think that BP, Shell, Chevron, and especially Saudi Aramco, are simply going to shake hands, give each other farewell hugs, and, with tears in their eyes, close up shop before retiring to exclusive golf clubs and super yachts around the planet? Well, no.
They need a marketing plan to drag us, those who send them mountains of cash each month, on the new change journey. When the leader of the free world - funny the word 'free' is in there when we all pay again and again for it. Would not leader of the fleeced world be more fitting on many occasions? Sorry, back to the point, when said leader states "Drill baby, drill!" You sense he is more on the side of Big Oil than EVs for the every-person. Yet you need more than three words from said leader, you need a marketing plan. Enter Saudi Armco and the FIA president.
Some genius noticed that we race fans love a good screaming V8, 10 or 12. Same genius then noticed the positive publicity around the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and how the "Motorhead" in each family tends to be asked for opinions on motoring purchases. In a light bulb moment, which probably still sees a fresh crate of champagne sent to their door each week, they connected the dots. Go back to ICE power units for F1. Use 'green' liquid fuels, thus retaining our golden goose, and get to kill EVs, all while convincing the paying public we did it for them! Genius!
Our continued addiction to liquid fuels ensures they can maintain their addiction to huge mountains of cash. But they are selling it as doing us, motoring fans and car owners, a huge favour! Someone crack another vintage Pol Roger please!
Why would the manufacturers who are so behind the hybrid engine rules right now, suddenly go "Gee, maybe a return to the 1980's is just what we need?" Because for the most part they build EVs that suck. Then governments - remember those folk addicted to fuel excise income - have been so slow to roll out charging infrastructure that driving an EV long distances is still a black art and a pain. So the manufacturers can stop all this exhausting "build a better EV" crap, and continue selling us the ICE powered crap they have pedalled for the last 100 years at ever increasing profit margins! All while looking like they are "...doing it for the fans". Win, win, win... if you're in Big Oil, liquid fuels distribution or a lazy ICE manufacturer who cannot build a quality EV to save your life.
So Elon. The great disrupter. He has so many fires to put out on so many fronts that it is truly ironic that at one point he wanted to sell flame throwers. Right now I bet he wishes he'd invested in AI-enabled foam flame suppressants. Without someone as crackers, disconnected from Big Oil and with hyper-deep pockets to fight the EV fight we, the paying public, are in trouble.
That unknown genius within Saudi Aramco has hit upon the perfect plan to sell us all into the fires of Hell, yet have us pleading for the bus to go faster! So do not be surprised to see a return to V8, 10 or 12 engines in an instant, because the money men of Big Oil have been shown a set of beautiful PowerPoint slides which show the golden path to new levels of profit. All dressed up as being "for the fans".
Oh, did I say that current estimates are a litre/gallon of synthetic fuel is currently projected to be between three and eleven times more expensive than our current Dinosaur juice? Governments and suppliers are crying at the profit up-lift that's going to generate. We the fans are really going to pay for this back to the future moment.
That's the problem with an addiction. It always costs you in the end. Just ask Jane (or Dave).
Max Noble
Learn more about Max and check out his previous features, here
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