After raising suspicion and intrigue during last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix over the legality of Scuderia Ferrari’s fuel from their suppliers Shell, Christian Horner has downplayed his comments and allayed any fears that what their rivals are doing isn’t legal.
During the weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit, Horner told German publication Auto Motor und Sport that Ferrari’s fuel ‘smells like grapefruit juice’, which was interpreted by many to be a sly attempt at criticising the Italian outfit and questioning the legality of Shell’s fuel.
However, Horner denies that there is any such suspicion coming from him or anyone within Red Bull Racing regarding the fuel from Shell, with the team principal of the Milton Keynes-based outfit believing that everything being done by their rivals is likely to be within the legal boundaries, while work is ongoing with Honda and their own partners at ExxonMobil to make their own gains in an important area of development in modern day Formula 1.
“Suspicious is probably the wrong word,” Horner is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “They [Ferrari] are obviously doing a good job because they have been, particularly in a straightline, the stand out competitors this year. Obviously fuel is part of that performance and I think they are doing a good job.
“ExxonMobil are seeing some good gains on our side as well, and they are working very hard in partnership with Honda. It is a particular area of interest for development, as it is effectively free and open without constraint, so there is definitely performance available in that area.”
