All eyes will be drawn to Miami this weekend as international celebrities come to the city for F1. Thanks to F1’s “Netflix effect”, the European racing event has attracted a large number of American fans. The successful franchise has sparked some of the most intriguing competition in modern streaming and has just been renewed for a fifth and sixth season.
That, in turn, has attracted a new class of tech sponsors, including Google, Amazon, Dell and Oracle, which can use their computing power to analyze the 100,000 data points generated by these $20 million machines per second. That means the 2022 F1 calendar is not just a celebration of speed, but every weekend from February to November is a triumph of math, science and data.
Furthermore, the technology tested on the track – which evolves due to changing regulations by the governing body – tends to trickle down to passenger cars, so what is shown today could be in showrooms tomorrow.
Here are the best tech people found around the Hard Rock Stadium at Miami International Auto City this weekend.
McLaren Racing
McLaren’s F1 team benefited from partnerships with Google and Dell this year. Google stamped the Android and Chrome browser logos on the MCL36 race car driven by Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, with the main colors revolving around the wheel covers, which have been around since 2009 due to new regulations this season Back in an F1 car for the first time.
Now it’s deepened thanks to years of partnership.
Nicholas Drake, vice president of marketing at Google, wrote in a blog post: “This collaboration has the potential to solve large and complex engineering challenges — from improving fleet telemetry and design capabilities through artificial intelligence, to using Android 5G to speed up decision-making and assurance Fleet Communications.”
McLaren also uses Android-connected phones, tablets and earbuds – to monitor performance from the pits – and Dell’s prototyping and simulation software.
McLaren’s chief digital architect, Edward Green, said in a statement: “We have been rapidly prototyping our racing cars, making them go faster through data-driven engineering changes, about every 20 minutes on average. .”
Of the top five cars on the track, the gap between the fastest and slowest cars could be as little as 0.15%, making the simulation capabilities provided by Dell indispensable to the team’s performance.
Red Bull Racing
The Red Bull team’s car may have the medicine for the team and driver Max Verstappen to defend his world title. Oracle Cloud software from its title sponsor uses machine learning to analyze race day variables — from when to pit to which tires to use.
The software will analyze data points from Friday and Saturday practice laps at Hard Rock Stadium to simulate runs and determine the best route for Sunday. This is especially important on new circuits, such as the temporary 19-curve F1 circuit at Hard Rock Stadium, where historical data does not exist.
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez said the surface conditions at the Miami Gardens were challenging. “On this track, there is little grip,” he said after falling behind in Friday’s practice session.
Computing could also help Red Bull tackle a challenge most teams have faced so far this season: the bouncing effect when cars are driven at top speed on long straights, a phenomenon known as “dolphin jumping”. This is the result of changes to the FIA’s rules for the 2022 season, which give teams more control over underbody dynamics to generate downforce.
Red Bull’s solution was to add stiffness and stiffness to the metal strips on the floor of the team’s RB18 race car. This “skate” design also acts as a slip, which reduces flexing once the soleplate touches the track.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas
After a disappointing start to the 2022 season, the long-dominant Mercedes team showed off its front and rear wing updates for the first time at the race in Miami.
FIA regulations that changed the design of the front and rear wings for 2022 and reintroduced the spar wings after a nine-year hiatus forced teams to redesign their aerodynamic systems, especially the front wings, which direct airflow through the body. Critical first point of contact. Mercedes’ upgrades are intended to improve efficiency and reduce drag in the W13 cars driven by George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
Russell led the second round of practice on Friday afternoon, giving the team and fans hope that Mercedes has fixed the problem. Meanwhile, seven-time world champion Hamilton was given a temporary waiver over the weekend to wear jewelry he doesn’t easily remove, including a platinum nose ring, so the team could go full steam ahead.