The sport of F1 is not really where you would expect to find the most pollution conscious people. It’s a motor sport that consumes lots of fuel, burns lots of rubber, creates plenty of factory pollution, and garners lots of air miles moving from race to race.

However, some of the top officials at the FIA, the governing body of the sport, have been pushing for a greener future for a long time. President Max Mosley has often been quoted talking about the new concepts that F1 can trial that can then be pushed through into road cars.

Honda launched their new colour scheme over the last few days, and along with it, a new sponsorship idea that has never been done before. A new website was launched at www.myearthdream.com alongside the car, enabling people to pledge a donation for an environmental charity, and in return get their name featured on the car. Several large companies have already signed up to the scheme, and more have pledged to do so shortly.

The team talked about their hopes for the future at the launch event, claiming that to raise the awareness of environmental concerns comes a close second to winning more races.

The colour scheme of the car has caused a whole host of conversations, on fan blogs, news sites and forums. Some are highly in favour of the new paint job and others think it is the worst thing they have ever seen. The car is branded with the image of the earth as seen from space, meaning it is mainly blue and green. The back of the car is black, however, presumably to be the depths of space, and to show off the actual curve of the globe. It does look rather odd when you admire the car from a distance, because it makes it look all out of proportion. I do like the image thing though, rather than just colours. It’s definitely different.

Whilst the idea is sound and a good step in the right direction, you have to wonder how much difference one team can make. They are the first team to try something innovative like this, and it may mean that others will follow. But if they are really trying to make a difference, it would surely make more sense to start trying to change technical aspects of the car to become more “green”.

The real problem is that it is incredibly difficult to be dedicated to both motor racing and the environment. The two do not go hand in hand, in fact, they really go in opposite directions.