F1 CEO receives grotesque message from PETA

The CEO of F1 and Liberty Media, Stefano Domenicali, received a plush toy of a dog covered in red paint from PETA. The message was sent to Domenicali to try and get him to stop GCI — a subsidiary of Liberty Media — from sponsoring the Iditarod in Alaska.

The Iditarod is an annual dog-sled race held in Alaska and ran over a distance of nearly a thousand miles. As per PETA — the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — the Iditarod has led to the death of over 150 dogs since its inception. Dogs are made to run in subzero temperatures and are reportedly mistreated and even killed if they lack performance. Up to half the dogs who start the Iditarod don’t finish it, suffering from extreme fatigue due to lugging around heavy sleds in disastrous conditions.

In order to get Liberty Media to withdraw its subsidiary GCI, the animal-rights group has sent a fake dead dog smeared in red paint to the organization's CEO Domenicali. PETA wrote in a press release:

“We hope that our delivery of the puppet of the dead dog will spur Domenicali to ensure that Liberty Media curbs its support for the Iditarod. The support of the GCI for this deadly race for dogs is quantifiable, in 180 thousand pounds a year.”

While not directly related to animal rights, F1 is heading towards sustainable racing, with the relatively cleaner E10 fuel being introduced in 2022.

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F1 to introduce 100% sustainable fuel in 2025

The FIA has announced that it is developing a 100% sustainable bio-fuel which will be seen powering cars as early as 2025. The next era of F1 cars will run on new engines powered by the new fuel which is set to be better for the environment than ever before. The FIA also plans on being carbon neutral by 2030.

The sport is set to introduce the E10 fuel in 2022 which is composed of 90% fossil fuels and 10% ethanol. Teams are working hard to redesign their power units to manage the horsepower loss as a consequence of the fuel change. Ferrari is reported to have already erased this loss in their 2022 cars.

In the sport's drive for sustainability, even drivers are not far behind. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has made the switch to a plant-based lifestyle to try and reduce his carbon footprint on the planet. The FIA's push for sustainability and activism from its drivers could help bring players such as Audi and Porsche into the sport by 2025 — since both companies have expressed their interest in sustainable racing.

While the shift to 100% sustainable fuels will be beneficial for the planet, it will also keep the combustion engine alive. With the announcement of the fuel, it does not seem like the sport is going to make a move to all-electric power any time in the near future.