Ferrari drew first blood in this year’s Formula One Grand Prix championships with Fernando Alonso leading teammate Felipe Massa to a one-two finish for the Prancing Horses at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
An interesting sidelight to all the drama and intrigue in the 2010 F1 season brought about by new rules, new team lineups and the return of seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher from retirement is the ban on refueling during the race.
The reviews are mixed over the ban on refueling and its effect on racing and race strategy.
Some fear the Bahrain Grand Prix could be a preview of most F1 races this year, a procession-like race after the usual first corner and first lap histrionics, owing to drivers being overly cautious in managing tires and most teams banking more on pit stop strategy and performance of the tire-changing crew.
Others expect teams and drivers to learn better tire management and when to gamble on overtaking maneuvers that affect tire performance over the course of the race, leading to more exciting races.
They cite the new rules concerning points-scoring which favor and reward those who go for wins and podium finishes which will force drivers with an eye out for the title to take chances on the racetrack.
Another intriguing result of the ban on refueling lend to more emphasis on the kind of fuels used by teams.
In this regard, Ferrari lubricant and fuel provider Shell has also drawn first blood in a way because of the victory at Bahrain.
Immediately after the race Shell issued press releases proclaiming the superiority of Shell V-power racing fuel used to power the Ferrari F10 engine and, yes, the Shell Helix Ultra lubricants.
Shell said the Ferrari engines used advanced biofuel components derived from cellulosic ethanol, an advanced biofuel made from straw.
Even before the racing started, Shell already was crowing about developing fuels for the 2010 F1 season.
Mike Evans, Shell Formula One Fuels Development Project Leader said, “For 2010, we've got the new fuel regulations; the formulation space for the fuel has been enlarged and we've got the change in refueling rules. We really need to get the performance out of the car to make sure Scuderia Ferrari make the end of the race, and to make sure there's no problem with the fuel temperature since we can no longer have the benefit of adding slightly cooler fuel during a pit-stop. We've got some exciting challenges ahead for the sport, and we've been working hard for that.
“Engines, performance-wise, are tuned to run a rich, heavy type of fuel but you can then run them on a slightly leaner formulation, which will give you a small drop in performance but it will also give you better fuel efficiency. It's getting that balance right. We can alter the mix of components in the fuel to enable the engines to run leaner but still give optimum performance, and that's an area we've been working hard on for the last nine months leading up to the 2010 season, given the latest FIA rule changes.”
We believe we will be getting more press releases crowing fuels used by other winning teams as the season progresses.
For those who’d like to know, Red Bull Racing cars use Renault RS27-2010 engines powered by fuel and lubricated by oils developed by the Total. Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel had been in control at the Sakhir circuit after starting from poll until his race car began losing power allowing the Ferraris and the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton through. Vettel finished fourth.
McLaren’s MP4-25 is powered by Mercedes-Benz FO 108X engine using Exxon Mobile High Performance Unleaded fuel with 5.75 percent biofuel blend and Mobil 1 lubricants.
By the way, Schumacher finished sixth in his first F1 race after a three-year retirement behind Mercedes Benz GP teammate Nico Rosberg. Mercedes Benz GP has taken on Malaysian oil group Petronas as a sponsor and partner for the 2010.
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