The Twitter and Tesla billionaire mogul Elon Musk met with Formula 1 chiefs including Red Bull's Christian Horner in the build-up to the Miami Grand Prix today (Sunday).
And the controversial businessman – famous for his pioneering of the Tesla electric car – had a new suggestion for motorsport after his visit to the F1 paddock.
On Twitter, Musk said: "Fun discussion of aero & battery technology in F1."
He added: "I proposed a pure EV (Electric Vehicle) vs gas/hybrid F1 race."
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However, a number of replies pointed out to Musk that an all-electric version of F1 already exists – and it's called Formula E.
One fan wrote: "There’s Formula E buddy."
A second added: "So, Formula E??"
Another said: "There is already a competition like F1 for electric cars."
Whether Musk was serious in his proposition remains to be seen, as does how similar it would be to Formula E, which has been known as a breeding ground for F1 drivers of the future.
AlphaTauri's Nyck de Vries won the Formula E world in 2021 before graduating to F1 and British F1 constructor has recently created a Formula E team.
Sunday sees the Miami Grand Prix reach the race stage, with Red Bull's Sergio Perez in pole position on the first of three United States based race weekends in the 2023 season.
His teammate Max Verstappen is down in ninth and Charles Leclerc is seventh after both made major mistakes in qualifying on Saturday.
"I know I have a good race pace under me and I am confident that I can deliver," said Perez, who is trying to close the gap on overall championship leader Verstappen.
"Podium for sure," Verstappen said on his aim for Sunday's race. "But I want to win, so this is not great. It's not impossible but it's not going to be easy."
Topics: Formula 1, Red Bull Racing
Dominic Booth