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While the two companies have been working in partnership for decades, Shell has revealed that it has been active since the concept stage of this year's car for Ferrari to have the most compact chassis possible.
The gains that Ferrari can achieve with a smaller fuel tank and better conditioning at the rear can offer direct benefits in terms of weight and aerodynamics.
Benoit Poulet, Shell Fuel Development Manager at Shell, told Motorsport.com: "The flow of fuel being the same, the frame and many compromises remained the same.
"But the integration with the chassis has increased over the last year and we are integrating more and more aspects and chassis compromises to achieve this extra performance for the car in the form of complete design.
The efforts of Ferrari and Shell to offer a more compact chassis fit into the context of an increase in the fuel limit for 2019 – which went from 105 kg to 110 kg per stroke.
Chicken said that while the new rules will make things easier when fuel consumption has been reduced in the past, it did not have a direct impact on its product approach.
"We are creating this tradeoff between performance and engine efficiency," he said. "Then we had this conversation six months ago about the chassis design of the chassis.
"There will be races where [the new fuel allowance] could allow us to benefit more, but the question is all the time, do we really need that?
"We worked very hard with Ferrari to get a very efficient engine. Based on the same regulations as the Powerunit, we have therefore been able to really anticipate the performance of many fuels.
"And if they have a similar performance, we'd prefer fuel with a higher density because, like everything [in the rules] is based on kilograms, which means a smaller volume, so you can get your car built slimmer. "
Chicken is skeptical that the new fuel allocation will lead to a radically different approach from the teams.
"We have clearly seen that we have 5 extra kg, which gives more freedom," he said. "But what's really important in development is the fuel flow and this value has not changed.
"So we always have the same technical goal: efficiency is the key. We worked hard to get the most efficient fuel and engine
"So the jump to 110 kg is what I would call an extra freedom in relation to the operational aspect of the car."
