Shell and Scuderia Ferrari

Our investment in research and development in Formula One™ has one main purpose: to develop better fuels, where innovations and technology from the track are transferred to our on-the-road products.

Did you know the Shell V-Power race fuel used in the Formula One™ Scuderia Ferrari V6 engines contains 99% of the same types of compounds as Shell V-Power road fuels available to customers worldwide? It’s all thanks to our Innovation Partnership with Ferrari.

Explore our innovation partnership

Shell's Innovation Partnership with Scuderia Ferrari is today, one of the most recognized and respected in the world of performance motorsports. Shell race fuels have powered Scuderia Ferrari to ten FIA Formula 1™ Constructors’ titles and 15 Drivers’ Championship wins. Below you can learn all about its history, peek behind the pit lane, and see how the extreme conditions of Formula 1™ help develop products for your car.

Charles Leclerc

Born in the Principality of Monaco on 16th October 1997, this season is Charles Leclerc's seventh driving for Scuderia Ferrari HP.

He began racing karts at the age of five and in 2011, he won the CIK-FIA KF3 World Cup and the CIK-FIA Academy Trophy. In 2012, he was WSK Champion and in 2013, he finished runner-up in the European and Under 18 class with Fred Vasseur's ART Grand Prix team. In 2014, he made his single-seater debut with the Fortec team, finishing as runner-up in the ALPS Championship. He was best rookie in his debut season in Formula 3 in 2015, when he raced for Van Amersfoort Racing, finishing fourth in the championship.

In 2016, Charles became a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and won the GP3 series with ART Grand Prix. The following year he won the Formula 2 Championship at his first attempt. In 2018, he made his Formula 1 debut with the Alfa Romeo Sauber team, scoring 39 points. In 2019, he partners Sebastian Vettel in the Scuderia Ferrari driver line-up. Shortly before Christmas, Scuderia Ferrari announced that it had extended his contract up to and including the 2024 season.

In 2020, Charles had to call on all his skills to deal with the shortcomings of the SF1000, scoring three times more points than his team-mate, thus contributing 75% of the team's total that brought it sixth place in the Constructors' championship. The Monegasque was eighth in the Drivers' classification, his best results being two podium finishes - a second place in Austria and a third in Great Britain - along with a further eight points finishes.

In 2021, he took pole at the Monaco GP, although he was unable to start the race because of a technical problem with the car. There was another pole in Azerbaijan and he drove brilliantly at Silverstone to finish second, having led the race until two laps from the flag. He took the SF21 into the points 18 times from 22 race starts, finishing seventh in the Drivers' classification, thus playing a major part in Ferrari securing third place in the Constructors' championship.

In the 2022 season he took nine pole positions, winning three times, in Bahrain, Australia and Austria to finish second in the Drivers' championship. In 2023, he again confirmed his amazing skill over a flying lap, taking five pole positions and although there were no wins that year, he had a great second half of the season.

In 2024, he took three wins, including finally putting his Monaco jinx to bed, before giving the Monza tifosi plenty to cheer about with victory in the Italian Grand Prix. He also went on to win the United States Grand Prix in Austin. He finished third in the Drivers' championship and played his part in keeping the team in the Constructors' title fight right down to the final round.

With 26 pole positions to date, Charles is second on the all-time Ferrari list behind Michael Schumacher.

(SIR) Lewis Hamilton

Sir Lewis Hamilton, born in Stevenage, England on 7 January 1985 is statistically the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time and joins Scuderia Ferrari HP in 2025.

Lewis was only eight years old when he started karting, immediately demonstrating his exceptional talent. In 1998, he was selected to join McLaren's young driver programme, the first step on his journey to Formula 1.

In 2003, he was the Formula Renault UK champion, with ten wins from 15 races, to emerge as one of the brightest stars on the British motorsport scene. In 2005, he switched to the Formula 3 Euro Series, driving for Fred Vasseur's ASM team, taking the title the following year with a dominant performance.

Success kept coming in 2006 when he won the GP2 championship with ART Grand Prix, impressing everyone with his aggressive yet precise driving style.

In 2007, he made his Formula 1 debut with McLaren, teaming up with world champion, Fernando Alonso. His maiden season was extraordinary, delivering four wins, six pole positions and nine consecutive podium finishes, to finish second in the Drivers' championship, one point off the winner, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkönen. In 2008, he was crowned world champion for the first time, with a last gasp effort at the final round in Brazil.At the time, he was the youngest ever Formula 1 world champion.

In 2013, he switched from McLaren to the Mercedes team and from 2014 to 2021 he was the dominant force in the sport, with six more titles coming his way in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, thus making him joint record holder with Michael Schumacher on seven titles apiece. During this time, he also set several other records, including those for the most pole positions and wins, which still stand today.

That seventh title came in 2020, the year the season was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, when Hamilton took his number of GP wins past the 90 mark to set a new record. Away from the race track, he upped his efforts relating to diversity and inclusion in sport, establishing the Hamilton Commission to promote access to motorsport for those from underrepresented communities.

2021 proved to be one of the most closely contested seasons of his career to date, fighting Max Verstappen for the title all the way to the controversial final round in Abu Dhabi. Over the next few years, Hamilton continued to compete at the highest level and was a pillar of the Mercedes team, as well as a central figure in Formula 1, while the sport went through various technical and sporting changes.

His dedication and work ethic make him a role model for drivers and fans all over the world.

Away from racing, Hamilton is an active promoter of societal change, sustainability and environmental issues, as well as being known for his sense of style and his interest in fashion and music, his influence reaching far beyond the world of Formula 1.

As of the end of the 2024 season, Lewis Hamilton has 105 wins and 100 pole positions to his name, as well as a whole host of other records that look set to last.

He is rightly considered to be one of the greatest drivers of all time and an icon both on and off the race track.