100 Grand Prix wins - and counting

March 31, 2010

When Rubens Barrichello sped to victory in the 2009 European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain, this past August, the finish was more than a victory for one race car driver and his team. It was also another major milestone for Mobil 1 — the world’s leading brand of synthetic motor oil — as it racked up its 100th win in Grand Prix racing.

During the past three decades, ExxonMobil has sponsored a succession of leading teams on the Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit, contributing to six World Drivers’ Championships and, for the race car makers, four World Constructors’ Championships.

 Formula 1 racing is the preeminent stage for the world’s fastest race cars and their celebrity drivers, attracting international stature on par with World Cup soccer.

“Racing serves as the ultimate proving ground for technology innovations that lead to new generations of Mobil 1 for conventional cars on the road,” says Harold Shablom, ExxonMobil Global Motorsports manager, who attended seven of the 17 Grand Prix races on the 2009 circuit to oversee the company’s close relationships with teams and manufacturers. “It’s also a valuable venue to support manufacturers’ technology development. This creates excitement for retailers and other strategic partners, and leads to increased product sales. Additionally, racing grabs the attention of a key consumer market, with hundreds of millions of television viewers worldwide.” 

Pride and passion
The 100th Grand Prix win for Mobil 1 underscores ExxonMobil’s long history in motorsports racing, which pre-dates the Grand Prix circuit and spans more than a century. In 1909, near the dawn of the automotive era, a Blitzen Benz race car lubricated with Mobiloil  famously broke the European speed record of 125 miles an hour. By the 1970s, motorsports teams were using Mobil 1 technology in earnest, and in 2009 one out of every two Formula 1 teams used Mobil 1 engine lubricants.

“The marketers wanted to prove that the off-the-shelf consumer synthetic lubricants were so good that they would work in high-performance race engines,” says Bill Maxwell, ExxonMobil distinguished engineering advisor and Mobil 1 team leader, who helped pioneer the industry’s first globally available synthetic automotive engine oil,introduced as Mobil 1 in 1974.

 Mobil 1 technology made its first foray into Formula 1 racing in 1981 with the Williams team,which went on to win 29 races during the next decade under the Mobil 1 banner. Driver Alan Jones captured the first of those wins at the USA West Grand Prix in 1981.

 “That moment was absolutely brilliant,” recalls ExxonMobil retiree Tony Harlow, a former applications engineer who oversaw the company’s first international racing partnerships. Like Maxwell, Harlow has an impressive record in automotive synthetic lubricant development dating back to the 1970s. “It was a great motivator for all of us. Pride and passion have been at the foundation of our success ever since.”

Rebecca Rahaim, Mobil 1 brand manager, concurs: “Mobil 1 has a very passionate customer and racing base, and our motorsports programs tap into that brand loyalty.”

Indy/NASCAR debut
In the United States on the popular CART/Indy car circuit, Mobil 1 made its debut in 1984, sponsoring the Cotter/Bignotti True Value Hardware team at the Indianapolis 500. Driver Roberto Guerrero placed second in the race and also won rookie-of-the-year honors.

ExxonMobil reached the pinnacle of CART/Indy car sponsorship pride when Pat Patrick’s team won both the Indy 500 and the CART championship in 1989. Another big first came the same year, as Rusty Wallace won the NASCAR Championship using Mobil 1. Today Mobil 1 is the “Official Motoroil of NASCAR,” lubricating more than 50 percent of the race cars in the NASCAR series.

A new era of sponsorship
The company elevated racing sponsorship to a new standard in 1995 with the advent of its technology partnership with the Marlboro McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team. The move was a natural complement to the company’s long-standing relationship with Mercedes-Benz, which uses Mobil 1 lubricants as a factory-fill and service-fill for its cars and trucks. The automaker also recommends Mobil 1 to owners of Mercedes AMG cars, which are initially filled with Mobil 1 at the factory.

For the Vodafone McLaren team, ExxonMobil customizes proprietary Mobil 1 formulations. And to maximize the interactive advancement of the team’s lubricants and engines, Harlow has worked as a technical consultant, often present at the McLaren Technology Center in the United Kingdom.

Mobil 1’s first McLaren Mercedes win — David Coulthard’s victory in the 1997 Australian Grand Prix — was also a winning test for a new Mobil 1 formulation. It led to the introduction of SuperSyn anti-wear technology into the Mobil 1 line for road cars in 2002.

“A Formula 1 car may run at wide-open throttle most of its life, but the principles behind engine lubrication are basically the same as for a road car,” says Bruce Crawley, Global Motorsports technology manager: “Reduce friction so the car is more efficient, and protect its engine from wear.”

Trackside mini-lab
Every Grand Prix season, from March to November, Harlow crisscrosses the globe to coordinate technical support for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team at trackside. A mobile mini-lab in the pits analyzes lubricant and fuel samples from team cars as soon they leave the track.

“It’s like having a doctor take a sample of your blood and getting feedback on the state of your health,” says Harlow. “Within five minutes, we have an assessment of the condition of the engine and whether or not it’s in good shape to go to the next race.”

Harlow is reputedly able to discern the identity of a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver based solely on the post-race analysis of a car’s gearbox oil. However, in all his years of track time, he’s never been behind the wheel of a race car himself. “I just dream,” he says.

Winning versus competing
In 1998, Mobil 1 and the West McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team celebrated a World Drivers’ Championship for Mika Häkkinen and a World Constructors’ Championship for Mercedes. Häkkinen repeated as World Champion the following year. In 2008, the team celebrated its third World Drivers’ Championship, as driver Lewis Hamilton dramatically clinched the title in Brazil at the final Grand Prix of the season. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has secured 59 out of 100 Mobil 1 Grand Prix wins.

“ExxonMobil’s expertise in lubricants lets me get on with driving at 204 miles an hour,” says Hamilton. “Lubricants can make the difference between winning and just competing.”

And so can ExxonMobil’s technical counsel: A lubricant analysis after the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix revealed a problem in Hamilton’s car’s external pumping system. A part was replaced in time for the next Grand Prix in Monaco, which Hamilton won. “One of our challenges in sponsorship is our success,” says Mark Humphries, ExxonMobil motorsports marketing manager responsible for Formula 1. “More teams want our support. We’re known not only for good products but also for being a good company to work with.”

ExxonMobil hardly takes Mobil 1’s reputation for granted. “We have a lot of competitors, and they’ve gotten better at marketing,” says Shablom. “That compels us to continue to innovate with our own marketing and technical programs, and motorsports have been a very successful marketing platform for Mobil 1.”

After 100 Grand Prix wins — and counting — Mobil 1 is a brand of choice, on or off the track.