The Race F1 Podcast Tech Show: Inside Red Bull's trackside fuel and lubricants lab - and why it matters
Aug 28, 2025
Fiona McKewan, Red Bull's technical advisor from ExxonMobil, dives deep into the overlooked yet crucial world of F1 fuels and lubricants. She shares insights on how her trackside lab analyzes fluids to boost performance and prevent reliability issues. The discussion touches on the logistical challenges of fuel management, and the evolving role of women in motorsport. Listeners also learn about AI's growing influence on performance analysis and the critical nature of team communication in ensuring race day success.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Stability Beats Constant Big Changes
- Stability in car setup and fewer major upgrades can help teams better understand and exploit their package.
- Running steady configurations across diverse circuits yields more consistent performance than constant major changes.
Trackside Lab Catches Failures Early
- Red Bull/ExxonMobil run a trackside lab that analyses fuel and lubricants at every race to detect early signs of failure.
- Continuous sampling and GC/elemental analysis let them spot contamination or abnormal wear before a component fails on track.
Always Verify Fuel On Arrival
- Open and analyse every fuel keg on arrival using GC and density to confirm it matches the FIA-approved reference.
- Seal a third sample for independent testing so any dispute can be resolved quickly.