No matter what type of fuel or engine oil you use as a consumer, Formula 1 plays a significant role in its development. But how do brands in the premier class of motorsport operate? We got a behind-the-scenes look at Mobil 1, a partner of Red Bull Racing. This is a report about the importance of measurement and knowledge…
Logos of oil companies and their products can be seen on cars or through other team expressions. In addition to Red Bull and Mobil 1, Ferrari with Shell is a well-known combination, as is Mercedes and Petronas. Aston Martin works with Valvoline and Alpine with Castrol (BP), to name a few.
No matter the company or brand, all strive for the same goal for their own Formula 1 team: to provide fluids that offer the best possible combination of performance and reliability. “And it’s not just the team you’re working with that benefits, like Red Bull in our case, but also the fans of that team, the people who use your products as consumers,” says Mark Humphries, marketing manager for the motorsport division of Mobil 1.
Part of Red Bull
But what exactly does Mobil 1 do during a Grand Prix? Let’s head to the pit box of Red Bull, the team of Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez. During a race weekend, there is always at least one engineer from parent company ExxonMobil working to provide the team with everything they need in terms of fluids to be successful.
At Mobil 1, Fiona McEwan and Pablo Terroba Seara are the engineers on duty during the season. The latter is the one working for Red Bull this time. “It’s a matter of alternating per race weekend. As an engineer, you are essentially ’embedded’ in the team you are working with, in this case, you are really part of Red Bull.”
Measurement is knowledge. Discussions, analyses, checks; it goes on all weekend.
