Racing
© Jonathan Borba
The FIA has installed two prototype filtration units in Zandvoort’s drainage network for the Dutch Grand Prix to test whether tyre-wear, brake and other vehicle particles can be trapped before rainwater carries them into the surrounding environment.
The system is being trialled across roughly 3,300 square metres around the pit lane and Turn 1, Tarzanbocht, where runoff can be intercepted before it leaves the circuit. The retained particles can then be collected and analysed, with the project developed alongside the Technical University of Berlin and German start-up Urbanfilter.
The significance for the FIA is less about Formula 1’s own footprint than whether a race weekend can serve as a controlled proving ground for technology with wider use. The governing body said motorsport is only a minimal direct source of this kind of pollution, pointing to “just 22 cars racing on a closed circuit across a grand prix weekend,” so the real test at Zandvoort is whether the system can demonstrate value beyond the paddock.
Nicolas Aubourg, FIA Head of R&D, said the early signs from controlled testing were strong. “It’s a pretty smart system,” Aubourg said. “In laboratory testing, the system captured up to 99% of the particles in the water passing through it, with a maintenance interval of around a year.” He added that the key unknown now is real-world performance: “What we now need to establish is how a prototype performs in real conditions at a circuit.”
The FIA is framing the trial against a broader pollution problem. It cited a 2024 OECD report estimating that 2.7 million tonnes of microplastics entered the environment in 2020, with that figure expected to double by 2040. It also pointed to a University of Portsmouth-led study saying tyre particles account for about 28% of all microplastics entering the environment globally.
If the Zandvoort trial delivers the results the FIA wants, the next step would be discussions with other circuits next year, particularly street venues where the filters could remain in place after the race. Aubourg said, “If we do convince the promoters of other street circuits that we could install these filters, we can race with fewer particles leaving the site and leave the filters behind afterwards for everyday road traffic.” He said that “would represent a significant quantity of particles that do not go into the environment.”