The outcome

  • Reliable information — In elite F1 racing where nothing is left to chance, there’s no margin for unreliability
  • Full access — Maximizing every possible access point to present data and intelligence to the driver as they chase down every possible marginal gain
  • Lightning-fast intelligence — Between engineers and drivers when speed is of the absolute essence and every millisecond counts, instant access to data can be the difference in grid position on race day

Background

In F1, where the competition is as fierce off the track in terms of performance as it is on it, nothing is left to chance. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team seeks competitive advantage at every stage of its process to get the car across the finish line first and that includes the technology it deploys throughout its operations.

As one of the world’s most highly technical and data-driven sports, the team's engineers trackside and in the Race Support Room (RSR) at the factory in Brackley, play an essential role during pre-season test sessions and during qualifying and practice runs on Grand Prix weekends. Communication between the engineers and the driver is crucial and the ability to provide the driver with instantaneous access to data, videos, and telemetry via the drop-down screens in the garage, informs critical decisions about strategy and pit stop.

Challenges

With tight turnaround times between runs, when the driver pulls into the garage during qualifying, practice and test sessions, time is of the essence. It’s even more important since the 2021 season, as both Friday practice sessions have been shortened by half an hour each to just 60 minutes. To avoid wasting valuable seconds, two drop-down screens displaying multiple applications allow the driver to scroll through visuals to access crucial information without having to get out of the car.

In a sport where every millisecond counts, the data feeds to the drop-down screens need to be one hundred percent accurate and reliable. The team had trialled other software solutions, but reliability issues meant they did not deliver the performance required.

Steve Riley Head of IT and Service Operations at Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

“TeamViewer is faster, more reliable and has more features than anything on the market. So for us, where milliseconds mean the difference in results, and communication between the driver and race engineers is critical, that’s how we deliver performance.”

Solution

The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team has already been successfully using TeamViewer Tensor as the ultimate remote connectivity platform across its racing operations. In July 2022 the engineering team turned to TeamViewer as its software solution for the dropdown screen data feed.

The Tensor platform enables enterprise grade remote connectivity for always-on scenarios. It boasts the best-in-class security, scalability, and manageability making it the performance driving solution that the team needed during practice and qualifying runs in the garage.

Using the platform, the team's engineers trackside and in the Race Support Room (RSR) at the factory can provide the drivers with fast and one-hundred-percent reliable access to all the live data they have on the runs while the driver stays in the car.

This includes intelligence relating to weather, run plans, strategy, and competitor analysis, as well as live feed TV of the session, playbacks of their run and footage of the competitors on the track — without stepping out of the car and wasting essential seconds.

Within the team garage, two engineers control exactly what information is distributed to the driver on each of the drop-down screens. With a mountain of data available at their fingertips, the engineers are able to disseminate the key information that will aid in the ultimate goal of delivering better performance.

TeamViewer’s software allows the engineers to share this insight with their driver with zero delay, permitting them to talk the driver through the information as it is presented. This ability to discuss run plans and much more information is of high value to the team when preparing for their next track run.

Riccardo Musconi Head of Trackside Performance at Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

“During a practice session it’s important to give the driver the right information at the right time. Decisions have to be made within a very tight turnaround, so the engineers need to be able to share stats and data in a fast, efficient manner. TeamViewer has never let us down and has really improved the way we work at the track and communicate with the driver.”

Results

TeamViewer’s secure remote connectivity solution enables the team’s race engineers to provide the driver with instant and consistently reliable access to all the data, stats, and live feeds they need when they enter the garage, to inform their strategy for the next and future runs.

Having delivered a one hundred percent reliable performance during the trial, the Brackley team counts on TeamViewer as its technical solution for the drop-down screens. And when it comes to performance, it’s not just TeamViewer’s technical prowess that’s been put to the test. The team values TeamViewer’s close collaboration and partnership and is actively working together to identify more use cases around the garage.

“We have a great relationship with the team at TeamViewer and speak to them most weeks about development opportunities and features we’d like to see in the toolset. We can see lots more use cases for our team and we are excited to see what the future brings,” concludes Steve Riley, Head of IT and Service Operations.

The benefits speak for themselves

  • 100% reliable access to live data and information
  • Lightning-fast intelligence between drivers and engineers
  • Full access to present data and intelligence to drivers
Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team car

About Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team is the works team of Mercedes-AMG, competing at the pinnacle of motorsport — the FIA Formula One™ World Championship.

Formula One is a sport like no other. Combining elite teamwork, cutting-edge technologies and innovation, high-performance management and exceptional driving skill, teams develop race cars capable of competing against their rivals in a high-octane environment that spans upwards of 20 races across five continents throughout each season.

The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, based across Technology Centres at Brackley and Brixworth in the United Kingdom, brings together over 1,000 dedicated and determined people that design, develop, manufacture, and race the cars driven by seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton and Grand Prix winner, George Russell.

Winning seven consecutive double Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships from 2014 to 2020 and securing a record-breaking eighth consecutive Constructors’ Championship success in 2021, the team is one of the most successful in the sport’s history.

Between returning as a Constructor in 2010 and the end of the 2022 season, the Mercedes-AMG works team has scored 116 wins, 264 podium finishes, 128 pole positions, 91 fastest laps, and 54 one-two finishes from 259 race starts.

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