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The theory is simple, If Shell's
products can last the distance in Formula One, then they are more than suited to life
inside a road car. But what is it about Ferrari Formula One that is just so demanding?
From the comfort of an armchair on a Sunday afternoon during a Grand Prix, it can be
difficult to appreciate exactly what challenge’s lie in store for the drivers and
teams as the cars roll out of the garages onto the grid. We took a look at just what makes
Formula One unique and why Shell has developed such a close relationship with the World
Champions, Ferrari, who use Shell fuels and lubricants exclusively in the F2001 race cars
of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.
Ferrari’s type 050 Formula One V10 engine is acknowledged as one of the best engines
ever built. Famous for its reliability, it is an evolution of the power unit that won both
World Championships with Shell fuels and lubricants last year. But how exactly how
powerful is it?
A standard road car can produce around 110 brake horsepower. The Ferrari 360 Modena, one
of the most powerful cars on the road, produces around 400bhp, yet the F2001 with the 050
engine aboard produces a staggering 750bhp from a non-turbo, three-litre engine. Add to
this the fact that a Formula One car weighs around 500kgs, (a family saloon car weighs
more than twice as much at around 1200 kgs) and you begin to appreciate how difficult it
is to drive a Formula One car.
Inside the 3-litre engine, 10 pistons spin a crankshaft at over 17,500 revolutions per
minute. That’s nearly three times faster than an average road car engine. At that
speed, the metal in the engine gets very hot and a high performance lubricant is needed,
which maintains just enough viscosity under these conditions to protect the engine’s
delicate parts and keep it cool without being so thick as to hinder its performance. It is
in this incredibly demanding environment that Shell’s lubricants perform at their
best.
The Shell Helix Ultra in the 050 engine has to lubricate it even in extreme temperatures.
The 40 valves hammer in and out of the cylinder head at phenomenal speed, letting the
Shell fuel into the head, to fire one of the millions of explosions that will power the
car and engine around the track.
As Michael Schumacher waited behind Rubens Barrichello to have his tyres changed in the
downpour at the Malaysian Grand Prix, he was stationary for over two minutes in the pit
lane. Without cool air flowing through the radiators of his car, his engine temperature
was steadily rising. Yet as he pulled out of the pit lane to begin one of his greatest
ever drives to victory, the Shell Helix Ultra was doing its job in his V10 engine,
dissipating the heat and lubricating the ten cylinders to help the Scuderia Ferrari to a
perfect one-two result.
As you would expect from a thoroughbred racing car, the F2001’s chassis is also
highly developed from very advanced materials, and Shell plays an important role in its
design.
Capable of moving from 0 to 240 kph and back to a standstill in around six seconds, a
Formula One car will leave any road car standing. The F2001 can accelerate and pull forces
of up to 2G on the driver (that is twice the force of gravity - generated going forwards).
On the brakes, it can reach nearly 4G; the driver feels four times his body weight
pressing him against his seatbelts. At the same time, in the middle of each wheel, the
huge carbon fibre brake discs glow red-hot from the friction generated. Naturally, the
transmission in the car has to be very strong and resilient to take such a constant load.
Ferrari builds the transmission and it is Shell who supplies the grease for the constant
velocity joints and bearings that take the strain.
To put this in perspective, at Imola, the F2001 will be braking from speeds of up to
300kph down to around 100kph in less than 100 metres, a truly staggering achievement lap
after lap. Shell lubricants in the joints protect the car and allow this relentless
pressure on the bearings of the drivetrain.
Perhaps as impressive as the acceleration and braking forces is the cornering ability of
the F2001. With very soft tyres heated to their optimum level, the F2001 can corner at
almost impossible speeds. The speeds at which a Formula One car can corner are so great
that a driver can be propelled through a turn at nearly 4G.
The major difference between the F2001 and a road car when cornering is the amount of
movement in the car. Gravitational forces cause a road car to "lean" when
cornering but the F2001 needs to be as stable as possible at all times.
If it "leans" through a corner, the air passing over the car will pass less
efficiently. To this end, designers build the suspension of the F2001 to be very stiff so
as not to allow the car too much movement in the air. Equally, the amount of
‘travel’ in the suspension of the F2001 is extremely limited. To regulate the
movement of the car through the air, the F2001’s suspension only moves 10mm up or
down. This is crucial to keep the car stable at speed and over small bumps and kerbs, but
it does mean that at 300kph, the driver feels every little movement as a jarring shock up
his back.
Such forces could disturb the instruments on board the car, like the fuel level monitors,
but Shell engineers work with Ferrari to ensure this potential problem doesn’t arise.
They calculate exactly how much fuel is injected into each cylinder for each engine cycle.
Multiplying that figure by ten gives the team the exact amount of fuel used by the engine
per revolution. Shell and Ferrari can therefore calculate exactly how much fuel remains in
the car, which can mean the difference between winning and losing the race.
The F2001 is a feat of modern engineering technology. Ferrari has managed to combine the
very best components in the world into a World-Championship winning package. Shell’s
role in that team is crucial; making sure that the F2001 is the fastest and most reliable
race car in Formula One, and that it has the finest fuel and lubricants to do it justice.
Shell’s work in developing fuels and lubricants for the F2001, means that the
products that Shell offers road car drivers have been proven in one of the world’s
most advanced vehicles. This development translates itself into cleaner, more powerful and
more efficient fuels and lubricants for those of us not fortunate enough to drive an
F2001. |
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