Ferrari Pushing Boundaries to Stay Ahead of the Competition

In a sport where every inch can equate to a mile, Formula One teams are always searching for that extra advantage which will be rewarded ten-fold on the track, and it is no different with the most successful team in the history of the sport.

A quick stroll around the Formula One paddock emphasises that teams are just as competitive off the track as they are on it. Lined up alongside each other sit the various headquarters, temporary structures which are home to ideas and strategy, as much as VIPs and celebrities.

However, as the structures of Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren sit in a row, it is the pre-fab of Ferrari which is of most interest.

Housed within Ferrari is the Shell trackside lab. Unique to Ferrari, this is a laboratory built for the specific purpose of providing the team with up to the minute data regarding fuel and engine health.

So, what actually happens in the lab? Well, during a race weekend Shell check the fuel and oil within the car and will advise the Ferrari strategists how to run the engine. For example a used engine may encounter more friction around various components than a new engine, so in order to preserve said engine they will advise the team to alter the engine setting.

The real impact of the lab though is in relation to the fuel. Shell will use gas chromatography technology to essentially take a fingerprint of the fuel used in the car. This will check it to ensure that it is within the FIA mandates on fuel. For example, they will check so that the fuel will have a maximum of 500mg/kg of nitrogen and that 5.75% of it is comprised of bio-components.

They will continually monitor the fuel, whether it be from the car, the carlotta or the pressurised drum, to see if it has been contaminated. The delicate nature of race fuel means that it can become contaminated easily, whether this is from oil, vapour or the type of metal used for a component.

While there are no regulations when it comes to oils and lubricants, Shell will monitor the engine's health by testing these liquids. Through taking samples they will be looking for very fine, discarded pieces of metal, known as wear metals, which can be analysed to determine how healthy an engine is and which components may be causing friction.

The trackside laboratory is an example of how Ferrari's technical partnership with Shell shows its true merits. As mentioned in a previous article underlining the relationship between Ferrari and Shell through the marriage of engine and fuel, the use of the Shell trackside lab is an extension of that.

It's easy to suggest that races are simply won and lost on the track, but this just isn't true. Considering rules such as the limit of eight engines per season for each driver and a freeze on tampering with an engine during race weekend, the trackside laboratory is a great advantage Ferrari have at their disposal.

When weighing up the value of Shell's trackside lab, consider this. How many engine failures have Ferrari suffered in recent years? Last season for example the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa suffered zero engine failures.

This season, of all the six competitors which run Ferrari constructed engines, there has only been one engine failure thus far, this was in the Sauber. This is not only testament to the efficiency and reliability of these machines, but also the undoubted influence Shell have on the final block.

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