Table of Contents
Welcome to the TEC Lowdown, our monthly breakdown of the technology partnerships, platforms and innovations shaping the delivery of the world’s biggest sports events and the way fans and other stakeholders experience them. This month:
Formula 1
What: Motorsport’s Premier Event Series
When: March – December, starting with the Australian Grand Prix,
Melbourne, 6th-8th March
Where: Global – 2026 will feature 24 Grand Prix across five continents
Organiser/s: Formula 1 is organised and governed by Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) with commercial rights owned and managed by Formula One Group, a subsidiary of Liberty Media
Formula 1 is one of the world’s most technologically advanced sports with the highly advanced engineering driving crucial gains on the track whilst adhering to stringent technical regulations. This Lowdown will touch upon some aspects of race operations but only in the context of how they are used to enhance the fan experience through immersive broadcast platforms and ecosystem-wide digital integration.
AWS - F1’s Digital Backbone
At the centre of modern F1 sits its long-term partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), dating back to 2018, that effectively provides the sport’s operating system.
AWS powers three critical layers for F1:
Race Operations
- F1 uses Amazon Sagemaker to process over 1.1 million telemetry data points per second from 300 sensors on each car to provide live, predictive insights to fans.
- AI models analyse tyre degradation, overtaking probability and pit-stop timing.
- Machine learning models trained on 65+ years of race data generate live strategy insights used by teams and broadcasters.
Broadcast Storytelling
F1 uses AWS tech to transform complex engineering decisions into understandable fan narratives, through F1 Insights graphics, including:
- Pit strategy predictions
- Battle forecasts
- Pace comparisons
- Energy deployment analysis
Interactive Fan Products
The new Real-Time Racetrack platform allows fans to design circuits and simulate races using the same AI models teams use — shifting fans from spectators to strategists.
Apple Enters the Race
One the big technology changes for 2026 sees Apple enter the sport as exclusive broadcast partner for the United States.
A number of key innovations will effectively enable fans to direct their own broadcast experience, including:
- Full race weekends streamed in 4K with spatial audio
- Up to 30 simultaneous camera feeds
- Customisable multi-view race layouts
- Driver onboard + telemetry overlays
- Integration with Apple Vision Pro enabling immersive viewing
In addition, Apple is partnering with IMAX to show five select races in 2026, including the Miami and Monaco Grand Prix.
The deal will also bring about a deeper ecosystem integration between Apple & F1. Fans can access 3D circuit visualisations through Apple Maps, track live race updates via Apple Sports, and enjoy free audio commentary on Apple Music along with driver curated playlists. They will also be able to get dedicated programming and storytelling layers through Apple News & Podcasts.
Apple is also offering immersive 3D digital twins of Formula 1 circuits, via Apple Maps, starting with the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne. This feature provides detailed 3D models of all 14 turns, grandstands, pit buildings, and spectator areas, alongside walking directions for attendees.
Centralised Global Production
Unlike most sports, F1 runs a centralised global production model via sophisticated remote broadcast operation that combines the Media & Technology Centre in the UK and the mobile Event Technical Centre.
All race feeds flow from trackside to Media & Technology Centre, F1’s remote broadcast HQ, effectively “mission control”. The Centre ingests over 100 camera feeds per race including onboard gyro cameras and drone & cable cams. They also render real-time graphics and manage remote production workflows.
The Event Technical Centre is a portable, high-tech, trackside broadcast hub deployed at every race, serving as the critical on-site nerve centre for data and video transmission. It aggregates and transmits over 600TB of data per race weekend for global distribution to 1.5B+ viewers worldwide.
F1’s “Digital Pit Wall”
F1 TV is F1’s direct-to-consumer platform with the Pro and Premium subscriptions giving fans in 188 countries (although not UK or Germany due to broadcast exclusivity) access to features such as:
- 4K HDR race streaming
- Multi-view layouts
- Team radio access
- Live telemetry & timing
- Driver-specific onboard feeds
The service allows fans to follow races similarly to the way engineers on a pit wall do, providing the kind of immersive, data rich experience that is particularly attractive to younger audiences.
Creating Smart Cities
When Formula 1 comes to town, the connectivity & digital services required to deliver race weekends necessitate the creation of temporary smart cities. As we touched upon in Motorsport’s Mobility Challenge, Formula 1 needs to deliver the same standard of experience regardless of the track’s location or whether it is a fixed or temporary circuit. High-density 5G networks are established which power functionality such as real-time mobile race apps, AR wayfinding and dynamic crowd analytics which in turn enable enhanced fan experience through features such as live timing synced to your seat location and personalised content alerts.
City-Wide Fan Experience Platform
Melbourne is the first stop of the 2026 season, and the city extends its F1 reach beyond the circuit with its Fan Festival at Federation Square. The tech-led activation features live race broadcasts on giant screens, interactive racing simulators, virtual driver photo experiences and live interviews streamed from Albert Park creating a second digital F1 hub in the city centre.
The Team Technology Ecosystem
In addition to the efforts of Formula 1, each team leverages its own technology stack to provide enhanced performance on and off the track, increasingly driven by partnerships with leading AI and Cloud technology providers. Below is a list of the partners per team:
AI / Cloud Partner/s | F1 Teams |
Oracle Cloud | Oracle Red Bull Racing & Visa Cash App Racing Bulls |
Microsoft Azure | Mercedes AMG-PETRONAS F1 Team |
AWS & IBM | Scuderia Ferrari HP |
Google Cloud & Dell AI Infrastructure | McLaren Mastercard |
CoreWeave & Cognition | Aston Martin Aramco |
Anthropic (LLM AI) | Atlassian Williams |
IndraMind AI | BWT Alpine |
VW/Audi Software Stack & ElevenLabs | Audi Revolut |
TWG AI | Cadillac |
RUCKUS Networks & Infobip | TGR Haas |
Red Bull & Racing Bulls use Oracle cloud systems to run simulations across race strategy, aerodynamics and operations, enabling billions of scenario calculations before and during races.
Mercedes leverages Microsoft cloud and AI tools to support simulation workloads, race modelling and factory-track data integration.
As Ferrari’s official cloud, machine learning, and AI provider, AWS use their tech to accelerate innovation across the business, with a focus on vehicle configuration and advanced simulation. From a fan engagement perspective IBM powers Ferrari’s AI-driven mobile ecosystem delivering personalised race insights, historical analysis and real-time data visualisations to millions of fans globally.
McLaren uses Google Cloud for data analysis, AI, and simulations, enhancing efficiency at the track and factory while Dell systems power aerodynamic modelling and race-strategy simulations.
CoreWeave provides AI-accelerated engineering for Aramco Aston Martin, while Cognition acts as an AI coding partner to speed up development.
Anthopic’s deal with Williams sees their Claude AI named as “Official Thinking Partner” for the team supporting how they think, plan, and perform across race strategy, car development, and operations.
Alpine’s multi-year partnership with Indra Group will integrate their IndraMind AI intelligence platform into the team’s operational ecosystem, serving as a “digital brain” designed to improve the team’s performance through advanced data analytics and predictive capabilities.
Audi will leverage their own software stack to enhance on track performance but also their agreement with ElevenLabs as official AI voice technology partner to enhance fan engagement through AI-powered, multilingual voice content and to create new interactive, digital experiences.
Cadillac’s partnership with TWG AI is at the heart of their AI-native operations, embedding predictive analytics and machine learning into the team’s core processes in order to accelerate development cycles, enhance race-day decisions, and optimize performance.
RUCKUS provides AI-driven network solutions to Haas, supporting the team’s data-intensive, low-latency communication needs to improve trackside-to-factory data performance. They also work with Infobip AI to create interactive, personalized fan experiences across WhatsApp and other messaging platforms.
