Deadline for motorsport

Our columnist Sigi Heinrich remembers his first car and sees more opportunity in further innovations than in constant new bans. It is clear that we are whining. Even though gasoline prices have now stabilized to some extent, there are still about two Euros (rounded up) are paid per liter. Well, we drive a thousand kilometers on a full tank because we have an economical diesel. It actually works and is a bargain when I think about Formula 1. For a liter of fuel you have to add 200 dollars. But considering the total cost of the racing madness, it's already a bargain. But soon the fun will probably stop in the motorsport industry too, because the German Economics Minister from the Greens, Robert Habeck, is of course calling for an end to the so-called combustion engines, but has now received traffic light resistance from the Transport Minister in his coalition, Volker Wissing, his Of course, the FDP clientele wants to continue to pamper them. My diesel is now five years old and I hope it will last another decade. Then I would of course be able to continue driving when the ban dates to 2035, because all the new regulations will only apply to new cars. Formula 1 is probably already building ahead and stacking a few racers or just engines on the shelf in order to then install them in the streamlined chassis when necessary, i.e. in twelve years. By then, of course, the fuel will have long been synthetic. Habeck misses this, like so many things. He should actually be the innovation minister as the person responsible for a functioning economy. But his party loves bans. Habeck wants to quickly ban all oil and gas heating systems. 30 million households in Germany still heat with it. Away with it. And then please scrap the diesel straight away. It's no longer fun, because how is the normal household supposed to finance these changes? Cold times are looming. If we could at least eat chocolate without remorse in order to experience a few feelings of happiness, it would be bearable. Perhaps. But Habeck's colleague from the same party, Cem Özdemir, once again raises his index finger in warning. He's particularly good at that. Similar to cigarettes, he now wants to put a note on chocolate bars about how decomposing, horrible and unhealthy chocolate is. Especially for children, of course. Özdemir is the Federal Minister for Agriculture and Food in Germany and has probably never held a pitchfork in his hand. The appeal of the car remains Regulating and controlling seems to be the order of the day. It is an expression of helplessness. The past has long since proven that the market certainly has the strength to react to new conditions and changes itself. Formula 1, for example, has not stood still in its development and the engineering art that is brought in there is also repeatedly used in normal cars. We definitely benefit from the innovations. Formula 1 is a huge test run and is still a fascinating spectacle for many motor fans. After all, cars have accompanied us throughout our lives and were, in the truest sense of the word, the engine for our temporary prosperity. There was a time when boys wanted to become one thing above all else: car mechanics. And wasn't the first set of wheels an overwhelming experience of happiness? For me it was a Fiat 850. Cute, small but with a lot of power under the hood. At least that's how I felt. It had a water-cooled four-cylinder in-line engine and rear-wheel drive. It was a blast in the winter. And sometimes he made a lot of noise. Of course that would no longer be possible these days. The quiet tones are in demand, or rather none at all. Only rolling noises announce incoming cars, which is why Formula E already exists. The fastest electric vehicles sneak around the curves as quietly as big cats. And of course there is already a racing series that is also shown on television. The current driver world champion is Stoffel Vandoome, who only knowledgeable fans know. The Belgian, of course, comes from the evil petrol industry and still has a contract with Aston Martin, where he is a substitute and test driver. In Bahrain he was able to celebrate the sensational third place of his racing team's old champion Fernando Alonso. There is discussion about this, it concerns the fans and of course the question of whether Max Verstappen will go it alone again in the Red Bull. We still have a reprieve. The warning for chocolate bars probably comes earlier than the ban on cars with traditional drives, although the question can be asked about how to dispose of the many chemicals that are in the batteries. But of course we'll worry about that later. Similar to the disposal of fuel rods in nuclear power plants. Maybe 2035. That would be a suitable time. Until then, we want to enjoy life a little longer and eat a lot of chocolate during breaks at the rest area on a car trip in the Alps with spectacular hairpin bends. Especially now, because we won't give in so quickly. The author: Sigi Heinrich The award-winning sports journalist and TV commentator (including German Television Prize, Bavarian Sports Prize, Biathlon Award, World Sports Trophy) devotes his column to the entire diversity of sport. Sometimes humorous and smiling with a wink, sometimes serious or deliberately provocative. There should be something for everyone. After studying sports at the Technical University of Munich, Heinrich was editor of the Süddeutsche Zeitung for ten years and has been part of the commentary team at Eurosport for 34 years.

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Deadline for motorsport

The first Formula 1 race in Bahrain confirmed the usual hierarchy in the highest motorsport series. But more than Max Verstappen and Red Bull, the phase-out of combustion engines is being discussed.

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