F1 is like a test bed for new vehicle technology. It's not that you'll buy a race car, or a race car engine, but those discoveries will filter down into consumer products, like they have in the past: paddle shifters, KERS, hybrid engines, rear diffusers, traction control, drive by wire, the dual clutch, plus probably a ton of improvements in tires, fuel injection, safety, suspensions etc.
So if a hybrid engine that significantly increases ICE efficiency (already the case, F1 engines are 40% more efficient than normal cars) can become mainstream and be a better fit for particular use cases, it could extend the life of gasoline-powered vehicles for a while.
I can buy that. But I’ll bet you the marginal cost of all the added complexity will (as scales of economy in the EV manufacturing process) more than offset marginal engine efficiency gains, especially if electricity prices stay significantly cheaper than gasoline.
I think the reality is the ICE is a technology whose time has come. It’s overly complex and has to be close to optimal given the sheer time and energy spent perfecting it. The EV is far from optimality and it’s improvement rates will likely be staggering over the next 20 years. It’s ok. The ICE had its day, and it was cool. Now it’s time for flying drone cars.
F1 has gotten further and further away from production deployment vehicles in favor of more entertainment for the crowds. Tires all degrade to enable more strategy, and the ground effect cars are now designed for closer racing which production vehicles don't care about. Le Mans has more production relevance than F1 now.
So if a hybrid engine that significantly increases ICE efficiency (already the case, F1 engines are 40% more efficient than normal cars) can become mainstream and be a better fit for particular use cases, it could extend the life of gasoline-powered vehicles for a while.