European GP: Shell technical briefing

Shell Technical Briefing Europe - Nurburgring

Fuel

*Shell and Ferrari will continue to use the highly successful Shell V-Power F1ULG58 fuel at the Nurburgring
*This fuel has now been used for six consecutive races - a rare occurrence - but the fuel suits the F2004 perfectly
*Ferrari and Shell will be keeping a close eye on the other team's lap times in an effort to see if this current trend for short-filling continues
*In Monaco , Ferrari were able to run longer than the opposition in the first stint to gain track position after the first stops
*Many teams are selecting shorter first stints in an effort to gain track position and then run slightly longer on the second and third. To combat this, Shell and Ferrari have developed Shell V-Power F1ULG58 to be as light as possible whilst maintaining the same performance characteristics of the race winning fuels from last year

Density - Technical note

A fuel's weight is conditioned by its density. Given than one litre of pure water weighs one kilogramme, regulations imposed but the FIA state that a fuel's density may only be between 0.720 and 0.775 kgs/litre. By keeping the power output and fuel efficiency high and by lowering the density of the fuel, Shell has been able to propose to Ferrari a relative weight-saving this year

Lubricant

*In terms of cooling and protection, the Nurburgring represents a typical European circuit
*With moderately high ambient temperatures but a high average speed to aid cooling, finding the correct lubricants for this race is all about a compromise
*The Shell Helix F1SL785 lubricant in the engine will protect the engine throughout the weekend but minimise the power lost through friction
*The same is true of the Shell Spirax F1L5361 in the gearb

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