Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Through its long-standing technical partnership with Ferrari in F1, Shell is provided with a dynamic environment in which to develop its fuel and lubricant products for road users, as well as help deliver the Scuderia a competitive advantage on track.
Ferrari's ten F1 Constructors and 12 Drivers Championship titles demonstrate the partnership's success on the podium but the rewards for Shell motorists at the pump may not be so obvious.
ONE OF THE THINGS I ALWAYS GET ASKED IS HOW SIMILAR IS THE V-POWER RACING FUEL WE DELIVER TO FERRARI TO THE REGULAR V-POWER FUEL THAT EVERYDAY MOTORISTS USE?
WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO HERE TODAY IS AN EXPERIMENT WHEREBY WE FUEL THE 2009 F1 FERRARI CAR YOU SEE BEHIND ME WITH REGULAR V-POWER FUEL FROM A NORMAL SHELL STATION.
WE TRY TO SHOW AND TO PROVE THAT THEY ARE NOT TOO DIFFERENT, THERE ARE MINIMAL DIFFERENCES ONLY AND WE TRY TO RUN THE FERRARI CAR WITH THE STANDARD FUEL.
Shell's V-Power race fuel and its V-Power road fuel equivalent now being collected for the demonstration are chemically very similar.
WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO FOR THE FERRARI F1 FUEL IS BALANCE THE COMPOSITIONS OF THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS TO MEAN THAT THE FUEL IS ABSOLUTELY BESPOKE AND DESIGNED TO EXTRACT THE MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE FROM THE F1 CAR.
FERNANDO SHOULD BE ABLE TO FEEL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE POWER AND RESPONSIVENESS USING THE V-POWER RACING FUEL...
BUT WHAT I'M HOPING TO SEE WITH THE EVERYDAY MOTORIST'S SHELL V-POWER FUEL THAT HE USES IS THAT WE STILL GET A VERY GOOD COMPETITIVE TIME AROUND THE TRACK
First up for test is Shell's V-Power race fuel. It's the product of 21,000 man hours annually at Shell's UK research and development labs and many more on Ferrari's test-beds at Maranello, plus experience on track.
After four laps, Fernando returns having clocked a fastest lap of 1 minute and 3.95 seconds.
The fuel tank is then carefully drained and the race fuel replaced with Shell V-Power road fuel before the car returns to the track for a second session.
When another four laps of the circuit are completed and the telemetry of both sessions compared, there are some interesting results.
THE RED LINE IS SHELL V-POWER, F1 SPECIFIC THAT WE USE IN THE RACES, AND THE BLUE LINES ARE THE SHELL V-POWER YOU CAN FIND IN THE SHELL STATION EVERY DAY...
SURPRISINGLY, THE NORMAL FUEL THAT WE CAN FIND EVERY DAY, THE BLUE LINE, WE HAVE MORE TOP SPEED AT THE END OF THE STRAIGHT SO IT HAS LIKE SOME MORE POWER AT THE TOP END. AND THEN WHAT WE SAW, AND WHAT I ALSO FELT IN THE CAR, ALL THE ACCELERATIONS - THE STANDARD FUEL IS A LITTLE BIT SLOWER ACCELERATING BUT SOMETHING WE CAN RE-MAP, AS I SAID. AND HERE IN THE TOP SPEED WE SEE THE STANDARD V-POWER IS AS QUICK AS THE STANDARD F1 FUEL, SO I WAS SURPRISED AT WHAT WE SAW ON TELEMETRY.
In fact, at one minute and 4.85 seconds, the fastest of Fernando's laps on Shell V-Power road fuel is only marginally slower than the race fuel.
THE FACT THAT THE RESULTS WERE ROUGHLY WITHIN A SECOND OF EACH OTHER PER LAP I THINK IS AN ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC RESULT AND REALLY A TESTIMONY TO HOW CLOSE THESE FUELS ARE.
YEAH, I THINK IT'S VERY EXCITING TO STOP IN THE FILLING STATION AND YOU KNOW YOU ARE REFUELLING (WITH THE) SAME KIND OF FUEL THE FERRARI CARS ARE USING. THE V-POWER IS SOMETHING THAT CAN MAKE PEOPLE VERY HAPPY, VERY PROUD BECAUSE THEY ARE RUNNING WITH VERY SPECIAL FUEL.