The undisputed king of American race tracks and the pantheon of the sport in the US however is Indianapolis. The four-turn, banked track was established in 1908 and is the oldest in the world. Built originally with a surface of over 3 million bricks, it hosted a 500 mile race in 1911 which would seal its place in motor racing folklore. The “Indy 500” and the “brickyard” have been world-famous ever since. This version of Indianapolis has only been a Formula One track since 2000, but Formula One drivers are not new to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As long ago as 1950, the Indy 500 was a non-championship round of the Formula One World Championship. This year, Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya is gunning to become the first driver to win at Indianapolis in an Indycar and a Formula One car.

Although Montoya won the Indy 500 in 2000, he has his work cut out for him this time. In the two years the Formula One has been here, Michael Schumacher has won one race, and finished second in the other.

The track incorporates a part of the fearsome Indy banking, running clockwise (as opposed to the Indy 500 which runs anti-clockwise) and dives in-field to tackle slower corners rather than the fast blast around the four banked turns for “the 500”.

For Shell, although the circuit is relatively new on the calendar, it has its comparisons to the more established European tracks at which Ferrari and its technical partner Shell have had so much success in the past:

“Shell has to approach Indianapolis much the same way as Monza,” David Barnes, Shell Motorsport Global Business Manager said. “With the throttle open for such a high percentage of the lap, the lubricant in the engine needs to be able to cope with high temperatures for prolonged periods of time. Naturally, this is a common demand for all lubricant, but we pay particular attention to it here, as cars will slipstream each other to find more speed. In doing so, the airflow to the engines can be restricted and engine temperatures can rise. Shell lubricant has to be capable of protecting the engines in all conditions. Looking at Ferrari’s reliability record, I think we can say it does this very well.”