F1 Rumour: Aston Martin Owner Lawrence Stroll Left A Huge Carbon Footprint Contradicting Team's Pledge

An investigation done by the British newspaper The Guardian found that Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll took 1512 flights since the beginning of 2022, contradicting the team's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. 

The findings suggested that Stroll was one of the 200 celebrities whose airplanes have collectively flown for a total of eleven years since 2022. Surprisingly, the news arrived the same year the Aston Martin F1 team received the three-star FIA rating for environmental sustainability recognition.

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Aston Martin explained earlier this year that they were “driving change industry-wide” with their environmental initiatives but the report highlighting Stroll's frequent flights, some even being as short as 15 minutes, goes against this. 

As Formula 1 faces growing scrutiny for its environmental impact, the sport has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. All 10 teams are actively working to decrease their carbon footprints.

The report from The Guardian reveals that the private jets owned by 200 celebrities, CEOs, oligarchs, and billionaires completed 44,739 flights, emitting a volume of greenhouse gases equivalent to the total emissions of nearly 40,000 Britons.

The 300-odd jets produced around an estimated 415,518 tonnes of CO2, way more than the 256,000 tonnes produced by Formula 1 in 2019. To add to the findings, Stroll was one of the worst offenders. 

His most common journeys were from his residence in Switzerland to the Aston Martin headquarters near Silverstone, as well as his trips to Monaco and to the private island Mustique, where he reportedly owns a house.

Other personalities from the Formula 1 paddock who own private jets include Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton used to own a private jet but, he sold it in 2019. 

Stroll wasn't the sole high-profile figure scrutinized. The rock band The Rolling Stones possesses one of the most environmentally impactful jets on the list, with their Boeing 767 estimated to emit around 5,046 tonnes of CO2.

The data was derived from flight information provided by the volunteer-operated OpenSky database. Estimations of fuel consumption and emissions were calculated using publicly accessible tools from Conklin & de Decker and Eurocontrol. It's important to note that these figures may be on the conservative side, given the limited coverage beyond the United States and Europe.