Shell's track-to-road technology transfer with Ferrari

Maranello, Italy—An integral part of Shell’s commitment to innovation in fuels development is its technical partnership with Ferrari. At the June launch held at PICC, Shell Fuels Scientist Mae Ascan remarked that “our close-working relationship with Ferrari provides us with an environment to test new fuels in extreme conditions. This gives us a better understanding of what will deliver improved power and performance. For example, in the Shell V-Power Nitro+ Gasoline available at the pump, we use the same friction modifiers as in the race fuels we develop for Ferrari Formula One cars.”

True enough, we saw a video of Ferrari F1 driver and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso benchmarking his usual F1 fuel against the new V-Power Nitro+. While it didn’t show the actual lap times (Alonso mentioned that his lap time with V-Power Nitro+ was just fractionally slower than that with the F1 fuel), the Spaniard remarked how his race car felt just as responsive with V-Power Nitro+ as it did with his regular F1 brew.

Walking around the Ferrari plant, you’d feel like you were in an F1 race—all the employees wear the same outfits worn by F1 team personnel, with the Shell logo prominently displayed on their shirts and overalls.