This weekend's French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours will see the WilliamsF1 Team race with an upgraded version of Petrobras' Formula One fuel, the 17-PodiumF1. The revised product has been developed in association with the team's engine partner, Cosworth, in order to produce fuel that will compliment the new Series 6.01 engine specification that will also make its debut in France.

Designed by engineers and chemists from the company's Refineries and the R&D Centre (CENPES), 17-PodiumF1 is derived from Brazilian crude oils and is processed at Petrobras' refining units. Petrobras has spent a significant amount of time testing its new product on Cosworth's dynamometers in order to achieve a fuel which maximises engine performance and track tests have also been performed to enhance power output while reducing fuel consumption. Once the best composition was identified, the new fuel was evaluated over long run tests to assess its effect on the engine in terms of fuel economy, deposit build-up, durability and lubrication.

For Frederico Kremer, Petrobras Manager of Commercial Solutions and Products Development, the new fuel represents a step forward for the company by improving Petrobras' understanding of the fuel's properties in relation to its relationship to the engine, "Our engineers and technicians have invested a significant amount of time studying and researching the design of this premium fuel in conjunction with the development of the Cosworth engine," explains Kremer. "The result of this project has consolidated our knowledge of the formulation of our commercial fuel, as well as some special fuels and other products used in our motorsport programmes."

The aim of the new product is to increase the power generated by the engine in certain revolution ranges and, at the same time, to improve fuel economy. Other than reducing lap times by precious tenths of seconds and increasing fuel efficiency, the new fuel will additionally help to reduce pit stops times and offer the team's engineers greater flexibility in terms of race strategy.

While developing the new fuel, Petrobras reinforced their on-going commitment to environmental awareness. 17-PodiumF1 is unleaded and has a very low sulphur content. The new fuel is also free of the highly toxic compound, Benzene. 17-PodiumF1 also contains oxygenated products similar to almost all commercial fuels which are used around the world today.