interesting article:
Fuel For Thought: High Technology Drives Gas, Oil Used In F1 Cars
by Dan Knutson
usgpindy.com Special Contributor
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
When a Formula One driver dives into the pits for about nine seconds to get four new tires and about 25 gallons of fuel, there isn’t a lot of time to think about the technology, development and expertise that has gone into creating that fuel.
One of the fascinating aspects of Formula One is the way technology permeates so many aspects of the sport. That technology is sometimes not easily visible. And that is the case with the fuel and oil used by F1 cars, where there is much more involved than just pumping in some gas and pouring in a few cans of oil.
Shell, for example, brings a mobile laboratory to every Grand Prix so that it can monitor every facet of the fuel and lubricants used by Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Ferrari and Shell have an exclusive partnership in F1.
For the races in Europe, the Shell laboratory is located in one of the sections of the double-decked Ferrari transporters. For “flyaway” races such as the 2004 United States Grand Prix on June 20 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the lab is packed into a specialized container that fits perfectly into the hold of a Boeing 747 cargo jet. The lab is then set up in the back of the Ferrari pit garage.
Ferrari and Shell work closely throughout a Grand Prix weekend.
“In this laboratory, we are able to make sure that our fuels and lubricants are working just the way we planned them to throughout the duration of the weekend,” said David Barnes, Shell’s global solutions business manager.
“Every time that the car goes out, we take a sample of engine oil and a sample of gearbox oil and put it through a machine that fires X-rays at the lubricant. By looking at the way those X-rays bounce off the particles inside the oil, it tells us what is in the oil.
“When two bits of metal rub together, even if you lubricate them very well, you are always going to get a little bit of wear. Some metal particles come off and end up in the oil. We use this equipment to tell us what particles are in the oil – from a piston, a bearing, a connecting rod or some other element of the engine. We are talking about incredible levels of accuracy here: parts per million.”
Shell and Ferrari have a database, so they know how much of each of these different types of metals should be in the oil at any given time, and they can predict when something might be going on inside the engine or gearbox.
Being able to predict engine wear is more crucial than ever in 2004 when each driver is limited to a single engine for the entire weekend.
The mobile Shell laboratory is also used to closely monitor fuel samples. Prior to each Grand Prix weekend, each team must submit a sample of the fuel it will use to the FIA. The FIA technicians carefully analyze the components in the fuel (there are about 200 different elements) and once it is determined that the fuel meets the regulations, the technicians create a “fingerprint” of that fuel.
At any time during the race weekend the FIA can take a sample of fuel from the cars, the team’s storage containers or the refueling rigs, and the fingerprint of that sample must exactly match the fingerprint of the fuel submitted earlier by the team.
“That is not a problem for Shell because we will never condone cheating,” Barnes said, “and we will never tamper with the fuel. But what can happen is contamination. When the fuel is delivered to the track, it comes in drums. We take it from the drum and put it into the refueling rig. We take it from there and put it into the car.
“At any stage during that process, unless you are really, really careful, there is always a risk that you might get a bit of grease or oil in the fuel. Or maybe the rig has some fuel from the past in there that has changed through evaporation, or there might be a different fuel that has been left in there.
“Ferrari’s housekeeping in this area is fantastic. But there is always a risk of contamination, and that is why we check the fuel so frequently during the race weekend in our laboratory at the track. We have exactly the same equipment that the FIA use when they do their tests.”
Shell analyzes about 40 fuel and 40 oil samples each weekend. There are few rules limiting what the oil can be made of. Ferrari uses a blend of synthetic and petroleum-based oil. One rule is that you are not allowed to change the type of oil between final qualifying and the race, which precludes the use of oil designed specifically for qualifying.
But the fuel is severely restricted by the FIA. F1 fuel is basically the same unleaded pump fuel used in a road car.
“F1 fuel and the stuff you buy from the pump have to be 99 percent the same,” Barnes said, “but there is an awful lot you can do with that 1 percent.
“The fuel that we buy for our road cars at the station is designed for a very large range of engines to be run under different operating conditions, whereas here in F1 we are designing one fuel for one customer for one car. By being able to fine-tune that fuel precisely to the requirements of one engine, you can get a significant difference in performances. That teaches you a lot about where the boundaries are.”
Like other technical suppliers in F1, Shell is in F1 for much more than just publicity. The technology flows from the race cars to road cars.
“It is fantastic having a mobile laboratory in an environment as aggressive and as public as this,” Barnes said. “By working with Ferrari and stretching the boundaries of our knowledge, we are in a position to learn from that. The people that are developing the lubricants and fuels for Ferrari are the same people who are designing the fuel and lubricants that you and I would buy for our road cars.”
Secrecy and technology go hand-in-hand in F1. Shell and Ferrari decline to reveal certain facts such as how much oil the car carries, oil viscosity or fuel mileage, never mind more specific technical information.
Shell looks at four main factors when developing fuels with Ferrari: power, weight, protection (the fuel goes through a pump and injectors and it has to effectively lubricate those) and fuel economy.
“If you can stretch the need for a pit stop by one or two laps, that can make all the difference,” Barnes said of fuel economy.
Shell could make a specific fuel for Ferrari for each Grand Prix, but it goes for a different strategy.
“What we tend to do is look to the extremes across the racing season, and we design specifically for those extremes,” Barnes said.
Still, the pace of development is such that Shell transports its fuel and oil by cargo jet to the flyaway races such as the United States Grand Prix.
“There isn’t time to send it by ship,” Barnes said. “If you are designing new fuels and lubricants throughout the season you can’t afford to wait six or eight weeks for it to arrive by ship.”
Fuel For Thought: High Technology Drives Gas, Oil Used In F1 Cars
by Dan Knutson
usgpindy.com Special Contributor
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
When a Formula One driver dives into the pits for about nine seconds to get four new tires and about 25 gallons of fuel, there isn’t a lot of time to think about the technology, development and expertise that has gone into creating that fuel.
One of the fascinating aspects of Formula One is the way technology permeates so many aspects of the sport. That technology is sometimes not easily visible. And that is the case with the fuel and oil used by F1 cars, where there is much more involved than just pumping in some gas and pouring in a few cans of oil.
Shell, for example, brings a mobile laboratory to every Grand Prix so that it can monitor every facet of the fuel and lubricants used by Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Ferrari and Shell have an exclusive partnership in F1.
For the races in Europe, the Shell laboratory is located in one of the sections of the double-decked Ferrari transporters. For “flyaway” races such as the 2004 United States Grand Prix on June 20 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the lab is packed into a specialized container that fits perfectly into the hold of a Boeing 747 cargo jet. The lab is then set up in the back of the Ferrari pit garage.
Ferrari and Shell work closely throughout a Grand Prix weekend.
“In this laboratory, we are able to make sure that our fuels and lubricants are working just the way we planned them to throughout the duration of the weekend,” said David Barnes, Shell’s global solutions business manager.
“Every time that the car goes out, we take a sample of engine oil and a sample of gearbox oil and put it through a machine that fires X-rays at the lubricant. By looking at the way those X-rays bounce off the particles inside the oil, it tells us what is in the oil.
“When two bits of metal rub together, even if you lubricate them very well, you are always going to get a little bit of wear. Some metal particles come off and end up in the oil. We use this equipment to tell us what particles are in the oil – from a piston, a bearing, a connecting rod or some other element of the engine. We are talking about incredible levels of accuracy here: parts per million.”
Shell and Ferrari have a database, so they know how much of each of these different types of metals should be in the oil at any given time, and they can predict when something might be going on inside the engine or gearbox.
Being able to predict engine wear is more crucial than ever in 2004 when each driver is limited to a single engine for the entire weekend.
The mobile Shell laboratory is also used to closely monitor fuel samples. Prior to each Grand Prix weekend, each team must submit a sample of the fuel it will use to the FIA. The FIA technicians carefully analyze the components in the fuel (there are about 200 different elements) and once it is determined that the fuel meets the regulations, the technicians create a “fingerprint” of that fuel.
At any time during the race weekend the FIA can take a sample of fuel from the cars, the team’s storage containers or the refueling rigs, and the fingerprint of that sample must exactly match the fingerprint of the fuel submitted earlier by the team.
“That is not a problem for Shell because we will never condone cheating,” Barnes said, “and we will never tamper with the fuel. But what can happen is contamination. When the fuel is delivered to the track, it comes in drums. We take it from the drum and put it into the refueling rig. We take it from there and put it into the car.
“At any stage during that process, unless you are really, really careful, there is always a risk that you might get a bit of grease or oil in the fuel. Or maybe the rig has some fuel from the past in there that has changed through evaporation, or there might be a different fuel that has been left in there.
“Ferrari’s housekeeping in this area is fantastic. But there is always a risk of contamination, and that is why we check the fuel so frequently during the race weekend in our laboratory at the track. We have exactly the same equipment that the FIA use when they do their tests.”
Shell analyzes about 40 fuel and 40 oil samples each weekend. There are few rules limiting what the oil can be made of. Ferrari uses a blend of synthetic and petroleum-based oil. One rule is that you are not allowed to change the type of oil between final qualifying and the race, which precludes the use of oil designed specifically for qualifying.
But the fuel is severely restricted by the FIA. F1 fuel is basically the same unleaded pump fuel used in a road car.
“F1 fuel and the stuff you buy from the pump have to be 99 percent the same,” Barnes said, “but there is an awful lot you can do with that 1 percent.
“The fuel that we buy for our road cars at the station is designed for a very large range of engines to be run under different operating conditions, whereas here in F1 we are designing one fuel for one customer for one car. By being able to fine-tune that fuel precisely to the requirements of one engine, you can get a significant difference in performances. That teaches you a lot about where the boundaries are.”
Like other technical suppliers in F1, Shell is in F1 for much more than just publicity. The technology flows from the race cars to road cars.
“It is fantastic having a mobile laboratory in an environment as aggressive and as public as this,” Barnes said. “By working with Ferrari and stretching the boundaries of our knowledge, we are in a position to learn from that. The people that are developing the lubricants and fuels for Ferrari are the same people who are designing the fuel and lubricants that you and I would buy for our road cars.”
Secrecy and technology go hand-in-hand in F1. Shell and Ferrari decline to reveal certain facts such as how much oil the car carries, oil viscosity or fuel mileage, never mind more specific technical information.
Shell looks at four main factors when developing fuels with Ferrari: power, weight, protection (the fuel goes through a pump and injectors and it has to effectively lubricate those) and fuel economy.
“If you can stretch the need for a pit stop by one or two laps, that can make all the difference,” Barnes said of fuel economy.
Shell could make a specific fuel for Ferrari for each Grand Prix, but it goes for a different strategy.
“What we tend to do is look to the extremes across the racing season, and we design specifically for those extremes,” Barnes said.
Still, the pace of development is such that Shell transports its fuel and oil by cargo jet to the flyaway races such as the United States Grand Prix.
“There isn’t time to send it by ship,” Barnes said. “If you are designing new fuels and lubricants throughout the season you can’t afford to wait six or eight weeks for it to arrive by ship.”
