Before the start of the Bahrain GP, the sponsor of the race Gulf Air was doing a couple of flybys in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, but 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was miffed by these flybys as he felt it was a waste of fuel and adding to the carbon emissions.
Vettel according to Ted Kravitz in the Sky Sports notebook, complained to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali about this which triggered a chain reaction that led to Gulf Air completing a low emission fly past ahead of the Bahrain GP.
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Gulf Air used a second-generation biofuel provided by Neste reduces carbon emissions by 80 per cent, compared to fossil jet fuel.
"This very positive move is very welcome and shows the commitment of Bahrain and its leadership under the Crown Prince to deliver a more sustainable future for the country. This is another example of how new technologies can make a real difference to our sport and the wider world and is an important part of our plan to be Net Zero Carbon as a sport by 2030," said Stefano Domenicali, the new CEO of F1.
Domenicali became the CEO of F1 in 2021. He was previously Ferrari's F1 boss till 2014.
"Each year, Gulf Air takes great pride in being the title sponsor of the Formula 1 race at the Bahrain International Circuit. This year, we mark the beginning of the race with a truly special low commission flypast highlighting our future strategy to explore the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in our aircraft and standing by our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint," added Gulf Air Captain Waleed Abdul Hameed AlAlawi, the acting CEO of Gulf Air.
