Formula 1 is preparing to unlock the development of 2026 biofuels, triggering an unprecedented technological arms race among giants like Shell, which is strongly pushing its collaboration with Ferrari. With the removal of the traditional maximum fuel flow limit in favour of a new energy-based cap, race strategies are set for a full revolution. The Anglo-Dutch energy giant is working intensively to deliver a major performance step for the Scuderia.
Ferrari and Shell: accelerating fuel development
The regulatory freeze that once locked fuel development is now a thing of the past. Under the new technical cycle, suppliers are finally free to evolve their fuel blends year after year: a complex chemical formulation that must comply with strict FIA limits while perfectly matching the architecture of next-generation power units. Luc Jolly, a key figure in BP Motorsport fluids development, reveals how the programme for Audi is running at full speed.
While the 2026 specifications are now defined to ensure reliability and performance peaks, laboratories are already working on evolutionary steps for 2027. The main challenge is sourcing components, a far more complex task compared to the abundance of the fossil fuel era. This has led BP to create over 400 prototype formulations, with more than 200 already tested directly on Audi R26 engine test benches.
Shell is following a similar trajectory. Valeria Loreti, speaking to Racecar Engineering, highlights how the work with Ferrari has been relentless since the introduction of E10 fuel regulations. With a four-year development window, engineers are now targeting ambitious, high-risk but extremely high-reward directions. Having the time to build multiple development paths (A, B and C) is a privilege Shell is exploiting down to the last drop.
Shell and the fuel density revolution
Overseeing this technological escalation is a completely redesigned hardware ecosystem. The old dual anti-tamper sensors inside the fuel system have been replaced by a single, highly sophisticated Allengra unit, capable of an error tolerance of just +/- 0.5%. A level of precision that Nikolas Tombazis justifies with pure mathematical logic.
On power units delivering around 400 kW, a simple 1% measurement error can mean a gain or loss of 4 kW. Translated to lap time, this represents between five and eight hundredths of a second per lap. A massive difference in modern Formula 1. This chemical freedom will also transform race strategy. Loreti explains how chemists are now providing Ferrari strategists with new “tools”: ultra-high energy density fuels that allow cars to carry fewer litres, reducing overall weight.
On the other hand, lower-density blends allow higher flow rates but force teams to start races with heavier fuel loads. However, BP’s Jolly tempers expectations regarding weight savings: if a molecule delivers significantly better combustion efficiency, the gains in the combustion chamber will outweigh any disadvantage from extra mass.
The paradigm shift: from mass to pure energy
All this development push stems from a radical rewrite of the technical rulebook: the way fuel is delivered to the combustion chamber has fundamentally changed. The decade from 2014 to 2025, dominated by the 100 kg/h maximum flow limit — the true performance ceiling of the turbo-hybrid V6 era — is now over. Formula 1 has shifted its primary measurement unit. The new governing parameter is energy.
To force innovation, the FIA has introduced a maximum energy flow limit of 3000 MJ/h, effectively reducing performance by around 20% compared to the previous mass-based system. Since every synthetic fuel has its own energy density, the challenge now lies in finding the perfect balance between sustainability and performance. Tombazis explains the system clearly.
The 3000 MJ/h cap is absolute, but the mass flow rate (kg/h) becomes a variable parameter. If a team uses an extremely energy-dense fuel, the allowed mass flow automatically decreases. Teams will still be able to push power units to extreme operating ranges, but must compromise on fuel chemistry to stay within the energy ceiling. This is where Ferrari, together with Shell, is already working ahead of time on the future.