Fans and team members fill the city streets in team colours with accreditation passes around their necks and backpacks slung over their shoulders. From the early morning, crowds gather outside the gates, eagerly awaiting their opening after two years of absence—the sense of anticipation is unmistakable.
Inside the paddock, teams are preparing for the race. In the Ferrari garage, Shell delivery manager Valeria Loreti is making sure everything’s in order. A lifelong Formula 1 enthusiast and a chemistry graduate from Pisa in 2002, Loreti leads a 13-person team responsible for developing fuel, oils and fluids for Shell’s motorsport division.
Energetic and approachable, Loreti moved to Germany after graduating to complete a PhD. In 2005, she began her career at Shell as a fuel scientist at the company’s Hamburg research laboratory, where fuels, lubricants and other automotive products are developed.
“When I started, I liked working for a large company with an international team and research that was very tangible and close to the customer,” she says.
Naturally outgoing and communicative, Loreti later discovered a strong interest in communication and marketing while working in deployment, where she helped roll out new products.
That role involved visiting clients across different markets and presenting the advantages of new fuels. “I really enjoyed it and realised I wanted to work in that area too—I even did a six-month project in marketing,” she recalls.
Around the same time, an opportunity arose to join Shell’s motorsport division, a strategic area for the company. Shell’s partnership with Ferrari dates back 70 years, and Loreti did not hesitate to apply.
“With Ferrari, we work as a shared team,” she explains, “We study the engine and develop the ideal fuel for it, always within FIA regulations.
“There’s constant exchange—we really work as one group.”
At every race, two Shell specialists travel with the Ferrari team, operating a fully equipped laboratory inside the Ferrari garage. Throughout the Grand Prix weekend, they monitor fuel, oils and fluids to ensure quality, prevent contamination and confirm consistency.
Loreti thrives under pressure and is energised by change. “Regulatory changes from the FIA are actually one of the most interesting aspects of my role, because they open up new areas of fuel research that we haven’t explored before,” she notes.
The next major challenge will come in 2026, when FIA regulations require all Formula 1 cars to run exclusively on sustainable fuel—with the industry is already moving in that direction.
Valeria Loreti in the Shell workshop inside the Ferrari pit
“This year our fuels contain 10 per cent second-generation ethanol, derived from sugarcane production residues, supplied by a Brazilian company that Shell has partnered with for more than a decade,” Loreti explains.
Her enthusiasm is unmistakable when she talks about her work. “This was my dream job,” she shares, “It gives me enormous satisfaction and has allowed me to enter the world of Formula 1, which I’ve loved for as long as I can remember.
“It’s very stimulating—you’re constantly pushing yourself, finding new solutions. It’s dynamic and hands-on: you see the engine’s response immediately, and the result can be a pole position or a decisive overtake. That’s incredibly rewarding.”
The joy must have been even greater after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took first place on Sunday.
Beyond chemistry and engines, Loreti values her role as a mentor and, during the weekend, also took part in school outreach events.
“I love being a team leader—helping people grow professionally is genuinely fulfilling,” she says.
“Inspiring young people, and especially young women, by showing them career paths they may not have considered but could really enjoy, is something I value deeply.”
Passion, expertise and determination define her career, along with the good fortune of finding a role that brings together different sides of her personality.
“My job allows me to be completely myself,” she says, “My chemistry background feeds the scientific and technical side, but I’m also someone who enjoys communication and building relationships.
“Being able to use both my technical skills and my personal strengths is incredibly valuable.”
