The stars behind the success of Max Verstappen and Red Bull

‘Would you like to take a look in the garage at Red Bull?’ The question was not even fully asked when I had already yelled ‘Yes, of course’. A look into the garage of a Formula 1 team while they are at work. It's an opportunity that not even F1 journalists get easily.

It's just before the British Grand Prix on Sunday, as I'm waiting in the pouring rain in front of the Red Bull Racing garage. I receive a message from Tomek: ‘I am a bald tall guy’. And indeed, Tomek Young, the Global Motorsports Technology Manager at ExxonMobil, is hard to miss.

The friendly Pole leads me inside. Tomek is responsible for managing the technical side of the Mobil 1 and Esso motorsport sponsorships, with Red Bull Racing as the main headline.

Behind the area where the mechanics are busy preparing the RB21’s of Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda for the Grand Prix, ExxonMobil has its own space to test all sorts of things. Really, all sorts of things, but more about that later.

In the room, I meet Fiona McEwan. The enthusiastic Scot is the Motorsport Technical Advisor at ExxonMobil and according to Tomek the team's mastermind. McEwan has been working for ExxonMobil since 2017 and has already experienced a lot of success with Max Verstappen's four world titles and Red Bull Racing's two titles in a short span.

It is part of the rich history of ExxonMobil in Formula 1. In 1950, both Esso and Mobil were present at the start of the first official Formula 1 season. It marked the beginning of an extremely successful period in the sport.

After Mobil pioneered the development of fully synthetic oils in the aviation industry, it set the new standard in Formula 1 with Mobil 1.

The biggest successes in Formula 1 were achieved in the eighties. When it became constructors champion with Williams in 1981, winning the world title with Keke Rosberg the next year, followed by respectively winning the constructors' title in ’86 and ’87, with them taking the drivers' as well in the latter year.

In 1998, a world title was added with McLaren, along with two drivers' titles with Mika Hakkinen in ’98 and ’99. In 2009, ExxonMobil also partnered with the greatest success story ever in Formula 1, when Jenson Button and BrawnGP won the world title.

After BrawnGP, ExxonMobil was absent from F1 for several years, before returning in 2015. It collaborated with McLaren and Honda. When Honda came to be a part of Red Bull engines in 2017, Mobil 1 became the party with which Red Bull Racing teamed up. And it has been successful.

As proud as Tomek talks about the rich history, Fiona speaks passionately about the work she does for ExxonMobil. Although the part of the garage we are standing in is small - we three fill up the space next to the equipment - all the equipment there is impressive.

To start with, it is good to know what ExxonMobil does exactly for Red Bull Racing and Honda. It provides six products. First the Mobil fuel for the tank, but also oil for the engine, oil for the gearbox, oil for hydraulics, and oil for the wheelgun. Lastly, Mobil also supplies synthetic grease for wheel bearings.

Oil in a car on the road is crucial to keeping your vehicle running, but in Formula 1, top performances are demanded from a company like ExxonMobil. Here are some facts:

-        Temperatures in the engine can reach up to 950 degrees Celsius

-        Engine oil lubricates more than 4000 moving parts in an F1 engine

-        Over 1100 samples of oil are tested per season

-        Only 110kg of fuel is allowed in a tank, with which an entire race must be driven

Anyone who's ever been go-karting for fun knows that sometimes you also need to have some luck with a kart. One engine is simply better than the other, even if they are exactly the same models and have exactly the same fuel and oil in them. How different is that in Formula 1, which is not called the pinnacle of motorsport for nothing.

In the garage, Fiona proudly shows what the team can and must test during a race weekend. For example, there is a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer. A device that can read the ‘fingerprint’ of an oil. It also checks whether the oil meets all the specifications of the FIA and detects contamination or wear. After all, the oil must perform under extreme conditions.

Another impressive device is the Particle Counter. A machine that can identify all minuscule particles in oil. With this small device, Red Bull can see if an engine is too worn or if there are problems inside the engine, without having to look inside the engine itself. Over the years, it has made the F1 engines so reliable.

These are just two examples of the variety of devices that are in the garage. Fiona remains full of enthusiasm, whether it’s about the Gas Chromatograph or the Viscometer. All to increase the chances of success.

The ExxonMobil team may be small, but the impact on a team's performances is huge. It's impressive to see how far the sport has come. It's not called the pinnacle of motorsport for no reason. Not only the drivers and cars are top-notch, but the motor oil and fuel must also be perfect to squeeze out every tenth.

Verstappen may indeed be the the face of Red Bull Racing, but people like Tomek and Fiona also have a big influence on the performances of an F1 team on a daily basis. Their passion and dedication for the job was a real treat to witness up close.