Shell ignites Ferrari’s passion for speed

SHELL has always been a key partner of Ferrari in every round of the Formula One World Championship race since 1950.

There is one peculiar sight that is hard to miss in a tour of the Ferrari factory in Maranello, Italy: situated near the end of the final assembly line is a lone Shell gasoline pump ready to breathe life into each of the newly crafted California and FF sport cars.

For those still not in the know, Shell is the only fuel and lubrication brand allowed inside the facility. Also, every Ferrari employee has a Shell logo patched somewhere on his scarlet uniform.

Such a tight bond could be explained by the fact that for years, Shell has been a technical partner of Scuderia Ferrari (Ferrari’s Formula One racing team), providing full analysis of fuel and oil samples during every race.

83 years

The partnership was forged as early as 83 years ago, in 1929 to be exact, when Shell agreed to sponsor a talented racer named Enzo Ferrari, who was then 31 years old.

It was around this time that Ferrari, no longer content with being just a driver, formed his own racing outfit and called it the Scuderia Ferrari (“scuderia” is Italian for a stable reserved for racing horses and is also commonly applied to Italian motor racing teams).

No wonder then that 840 races after, the bond keeping Shell and Ferrari is as strong as ever.

“Shell is very proud to have supported Scuderia Ferrari during its over 840 races (Shell was at the grid when the first ever round of the Formula One World Championship was held in 1950), which enabled this team to secure more than 2,000 World Championship points, over 215 victories and 12 FIA Formula One Drivers’ and 10 Constructors’ titles,” Shell Brands International sponsorship manager Remi Sinai said.

READY for delivery: These drums of specially blended race gasoline will head straight to the F1 tracks

The partnership is beyond the fuel and lubricant products that keep the Ferrari engine running in the best condition possible.

Mike Evans, Shell’s Formula One fuels project leader, explained that Shell goes beyond providing fuel and lubricant products. “We also develop the fuel and lubricants that Scuderia Ferrari exclusively uses as well as provide a full analytical service at every race,” he said.

He explained that Shell maintains a Track Lab—sort of container van filled with test equipment—where fuel scientists constantly test the fuel and lubricants that the team uses during each racing season.

It is to ensure that the drivers get the most performance out of their cars come racing day. It’s like fine-tuning the venue’s sound system before a big concert. With this partnership, Shell is able to assure consumers that the fuels, oils and greases that they get from Shell have undergone—and survived—the harshest engineering test there is—Formula One.

Andreas Schaefer, Shell’s Fuel Technology fuel scientist, explained that a Formula One engine will run on most standard pump fuels.

Tailor fit

However, for best results Shell can tailor its fuel to suit the requirement of the Ferrari engine at various tracks.

“Fuel and engine oil samples are taken from the Ferrari car before and after every Formula One session (practice, qualifying, race) for analysis. The Track Lab separates the many compounds and components in the race fuel as well as lubricants for analysis,” Schaefer explained.

EVERY Ferrari employee has a Shell logo patched somewhere on his scarlet uniform. Photos by Charles E. Buban

On average, the fuel is analyzed up to 40 times throughout a race weekend (there are over 200 components in a race fuel) to ensure that everything is within legal boundaries. The motorsports-governing body International Automobile Federation sets the minimum and maximum limits for these ingredients while at the same time mandates that the fuel must have 5.7 percent ethanol or biofuel in the mix.

This is the reason why the Formula One fuel has to be made of the same type of components one would find in pump gas, particularly the Shell V-Power Nitro+ gasoline fuel.

“It would be pointless to develop products that only a handful could use. Between the F1 race fuel and the one available at the pump, it’s just the ratios that we play around with. This is to ensure that the Ferrari F1 engine is well suited to the track and climate it is racing on. For example, a fast circuit with long straights like the Monza in Italy requires that the engine must be able to quickly generate all the power it could muster. In this case, the ideal Shell fuel blend is one that will give the engine the most power possible and at the same time one that  could provide the best fuel economy since this is important when doing fast laps,” Schaefer explained.

He added that the new formulation of Shell V-Power Nitro+ has been developed with inspiration and learnings from the track with Ferrari. “We have taken what we learn on the track and translated it into a new performance fuel formulated to deliver a benefit for every type of car on the road.”