AT&T's network service is powering the performance of Red Bull Racing in the data-driven sport of F1. At the heart of the partnership is AT&T's global network that links the team's headquarters in Milton Keynes, England, to every racetrack on the F1 calendar. Red Bull has had a business relationship with the U.S. company since the team's early days, said Al Peasland, head of technical partnerships at Red Bull Racing. Red Bull entered F1 in '05 after company Founder Dietrich Mateschitz purchased the Jaguar Racing team from Ford. Over the years the business relationship expanded into a full partnership, and two years ago Red Bull decided to extend the deal into what the team calls an innovation partnership. "It's about providing technology, service and support rather than a simple sponsorship deal, which would be perhaps more of a cash-based partnership," Peasland said. Red Bull Racing collects an average of 400 gigabytes of data on any given race weekend through its more than 100 sensors on its cars. The collected data will then be shared around the different departments and engineers who are based at the racetrack. It is also sent back to the team's U.K. HQ in real-time. Peasland: "It's AT&T that is providing the connectivity and backbone that enables the U.K. operation to work and collaborate with the race team."
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| Al Peasland |
PUTTING DATA TO WORK: The data provides engineers with crucial information about the car's performance and health, and also helps to make strategic decisions, Peasland said. The information from the sensors together with the feedback from the drivers is used to optimize the setup of the cars for the race. Data and driver feedback are equally important, Peasland said. "We like to think that we don’t work on gut feel," he said. "It’s a data driven sport. Even if we had a comment from the driver that he wanted to change something on the car. We would still look at the telemetry on the car, look at the data that we could gather from the sensors on the car to support that decision or to validate that comment. They work hand in hand." FIA regulations essentially prohibit any changes to the cars' setup after Saturday's qualifying session. The data's main purpose therefore shifts from determining the appropriate car setup to monitoring its health and making strategic decision during the race. Peasland said the amount of data has increased dramatically in recent years. "Only two years ago was 200 [gigabytes] and the year before that it was 100," he said. "It's not just a case of adding lots of sensors to the car because then you struggle to find the useful bit of data in all of that noise."
HUMAN COMPONENT: There have been voices within the sport saying that regulations combined with technological advancements have reduced the importance of the driver. Peasland, however, disagrees that technology takes away from driver ability. "I’m an engineer by trade, and actually I see any regulation in the sport or any sport as an opportunity to innovate," he said. "I think while some may argue that regulations have changed the way sport may be perceived -- it's not so much a driver race anymore -- we just see them as an opportunity to innovate."
SBD Global was on the ground in Mexico to cover F1's return to the country.
