Shell race preview of the Monaco GP

Ferrari’s technical partner Shell will be once again a powerful ally in this challenge. The track is so twisty and tight, overtaking is a sparse commodity and this makes the qualifying hour on Saturday afternoon one of the most important qualifying sessions of the year.

Within the Ferrari engines is a specially developed engine lubricant from Shell. Generally speaking, the lubricant is thinner than race lubricant and accommodates the engine turning faster yet still deals effectively with the heat generated in the unit. As the engines run for less time, they can be run harder and faster and Shell has worked with Ferrari very closely to develop a lubricant is especially for this situation.

For the drivers, Monaco is the most unforgiving track of the year. Barriers all around the circuit allow almost no room for error and yet the cars will still reach over well 200kph in top gear as they exit the tunnel. It also has the slowest corner in Formula One, the Grand Hotel Hairpin, which is taken in first gear.

The bumps and camber in the road force the cars to run unusually high from the ground detracting from their natural grip as more air flows under the cars. The cars will also “run more wing” than usual, that is that the cars will carry large angled wings on their front and back to force them to the ground and give them grip around the tight corners.