3D printing and data analysis in pioneering engineer design | Formula 1

The Formula One business is trying to get

the maximum benefits

of the technology available everywhere.

Without IT, no race,

no car out of the garage.

We use 3D printing technology 24 hours

a day, seven days a week to prepare

the next season car already now.

If AI is a means to take better decision,

it's okay, we will use it.

But AI to replace engineering, no.

So, how is the use of data

and analytics transforming the sport?

Actually, this is probably the sport

that is using so far the greatest amount

of data because this is the sport that is

the most regulated sport in the world.

And for that reason,

the restriction that we have in physical

testing needs to be replaced by

simulation or grading data from the CFD,

the computational fluid analysis that we

have in the factory,

getting all those data compared

with the wind tunnel analysis that we do

from an aerodynamics

performance standpoint.

The Formula One business is

a schizophrenic business

because you can imagine that innovation

is in the art of Formula One.

We want to get the best materials, the

best ideas, the best design for the parts.

But at the same time, we are very

reluctant at changing the way we work.

To race, you first to have be reliable.

That's what I said to my team.

The first thing that we have to provide is

not the performance in compute,

it's the reliability,

having that infrastructure running as soon

as the engineer needs it

to set up or fire the car.

Every race, we are building

a new subsidiary for a few days.

We are installing a data center

on the Tuesday,

then installing the application that all

the engineers will use over the weekend,

and we will dismantle that subsidiary

at the end of the race on the Sunday

night for the next race.

Sometimes there is back-to-back races.

It will be the case this weekend.

We will be in Austin, Texas,

and on Sunday,

we will be packing everything

and travel to Mexico for the next race.

One of the criticisms,

as you well know, of Formula One in recent

years is that it has become too focused

on technology instead

of the skill of the driver.

Where do you sit?

What do you think of that criticism?

Have you ever been in a Formula One car?

You have to know that those

guys are just amazing.

They can handle so much

information during your lap time.

They are obviously racing

at 300 kilometers per hour.

At the same time,

they have to deal with all the information

that came from the engineers

asking to switch that button

to the seventh position and look

at the way you recover energy,

because now you know that the power unit,

what we call the power unit, we don't

even call it an engine, it's a power unit.

It's a combination of an internal

combustion engine plus two electrical

motor plus a battery plus a turbo.

The engineer are sending constantly

information to those guys to set up properly

all those systems to make the car

the most efficient in every corner.

The day we will see a bad driver

winning race is not for tomorrow. [APPLAUSE]