Mercedes-Benz EQ driver Stoffel Vandoorne will be tracked with Suunto devices as he races this season.Courtesy of SAP
When the 2019-20 Formula E season starts up today on the streets of Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, two new teams will take the grid: TAG Heuer Porche and Mercedes-Benz EQ. And drivers for one of those two, Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries, will be powered by knowledge of their biometric data in hopes of maximizing their performance.
Mercedes unofficially entered Formula E last year through the HWA Racelab team, which now becomes the German automaker’s factory team. The Diriyah double-header races today and tomorrow will see Formula E become the first single-seater series to feature all four of Germany’s major manufacturers, with Audi having been a founding team of Formula E and BMW joining last season.
New details emerged this week of the multiyear partnership between Mercedes and SAP that was originally announced in May 2018. Core team members—including not only the drivers, but also other race day staff—will be monitored using wearable devices built by Suunto. Data will then be fed into the SAP Sports One platform to help team physical therapists monitor, understand and then act on human performance data insights.
PRO DAY: Join SportTechie in NYC on Dec. 12 for Sports Media Production & Consumption
Mercedes physical therapists will be able to analyze sleep deprivation, jet lag and hydration levels to evaluate driver health and to ensure the entire race team is operating at its maximum when drivers are on track. Since all teams use the same Spark Gen2 cars and tires, much of the success or failure in races comes down to the design of the electric engines and to maximizing the things they do have control over. A large part of this is the human element.
“All the cars racing on the track are more or less similar—they are using the same battery, horsepower, all adjustments are strongly regulated. That means team performance and strategy is the key factor for winning the race or being on the podium; and that involves everyone on the team: driver, team manager, data analyst, medical staff, mechanical,” says Thomas Esser, SAP’s director of sponsorships technology.
“You can imagine that traveling around the globe racing at 280 kilometers per hour is a rough job for everyone on the team, especially the drivers who must focus on the race.”
The Mercedes-Benz team is also using SAP’s data platform to monitor overall business performance, which includes the complexities of product procurement, supplier evaluation and performance monitoring for the Formula E car. That’s “very important for the team,” says Esser, because “every part of the car has to be there in time.”
SAP will additionally help Mercedes coordinate administrative and medical processes, team training, management and talent development. The team’s medical staff will be able to receive information about athletes from anywhere in the world in order to quickly address injuries or other medical concerns.
BREAKING THROUGH: Advice from Seattle Storm co-owner and Olympic rower Ginny Gilder
The German software giant has a long history in motorsports. Back in 2003, it began working with the Toyota Formula 1 team to assist with streamlining its racing operations. In 2013, Red Bull was the first F1 team to sign up to use SAP HANA’s business suite, and the company is now an official technology supplier to the McLaren F1 team.
However, the Mercedes-Benz deal marks the first time SAP has ventured into the all-electric racing circuit Formula E. Eva Piorkowski, SAP’s director of strategic partnerships for motorsports and events, says her company was attracted to the league because of its sustainability focus and popularity among younger fans. Also, its visibility: Formula E cars race on street courses right in the center of major cities. The 2018-19 season wrapped up in July with a double-header race through Brooklyn in New York City.
Formula E is “really innovative; there’s a lot of technology involved,” she says. “The whole topic around human performance is important because everything is happening on the same day and there's so much pressure on the human being.”
Compared to Formula 1, “it’s a completely different audience,” says Piorkowski. “It’s still motor racing, but it targets an audience that’s on average much more tech savvy and digitally minded.”
Question? Comment? Idea? Let us know at talkback@sporttechie.com
