Start your data engines for F1 2022
Rajen Nagar, Professional Services Executive at TechSoft International
The new F1 season is upon us, with Bahrain hosting the opener this coming weekend. But even amidst the excitement of watching 20 of arguably the best drivers on the planet fighting it out on the track, there is a complex landscape of new rules, car designs, and restrictions in place designed to make what we see on TV even more exciting. For the ten teams, this means data analytics at scale is non-negotiable. Remaining competitive in one of the longest racing seasons ever despite the recent cancellation of the Russian Grand Prix means data will become the digital fuel essential for success.
While the new F1 rules are focused not on speeding the racing up but on making it easier for drivers to overtake, several key points of interest revolve around the new car design. Despite the recent testing that took place, manufacturers and race principals will look forward to experiencing the latest designs in proper racing conditions come March 18.
From the front and rear wings and the floor to the wheels, bargeboards, and chassis, it will be a massively different racing experience to 12 months ago. Balancing all of that with a lower budget cap that will continue to drop over the coming seasons means getting the insights essential to determine where and how to cut costs without impacting performance in a sport where every millisecond counts will be crucial.
With Formula One committing to sustainability, the biofuels ratio of its fuels will be increased to 10 percent. There are plans in place to introduce a fully sustainable fuel over the next few years, and because of this, new manufacturers like Porsche could potentially join the ‘F1 circus’ sooner rather than later.
And there is also an increase in standardised parts for all teams. Furthermore, the racing teams are intensifying efforts to reduce waste on and off-track. These interventions form part of the sport’s aim to be net-zero carbon by 2030, which is just around the corner, or chicane, depending on your preference.
From sim to track
No competitor makes decisions without the data and expertise to back them up. All F1 teams rely on expert data partnerships to fuel their competitive advantage. These data partnerships enable teams to make adjustments and decisions based on several factors, like simulations in the wind tunnel, predictive analytics, digital twins, and more. Every race is different, so the strategy must remain flexible to meet the demands of each track, driving conditions, and car performance.
This is a mirror for what happens in the business world.
A company can become an industry leader that outpaces its competitors by having the right data strategies in place. These require an organisation to put systems in place that can connect seamlessly with any data source. It must unify data intelligently for better control over its strategic planning. In turn, this will empower business and technology leaders to predict confidently with the access to real-time intelligence they have.
For instance, using TIBCO Connected Intelligence, a company can see where its competition is on track, guess its next moves, and overtake them with data-driven intelligence that helps the company overcome its most demanding challenges. Whether in retail, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and more, the following grid line-up for an organisation can be successful with the correct data backing its strategy.
The power of data
Throughout this, data quality plays a critically important role, especially in establishing an agile data fabric. The data quality lifecycle will help a company, regardless of industry sector, get the insight and understanding vital to its data situation. It can also use this to create unique data quality services and rules and deploy and monitor them over time.
In F1, harnessing this means the difference between success and failure, life and death. There are no chances to practice come race day. It is about putting all the work and analysis done in simulators to practice. The same holds true for a business. Simulating data-driven decision-making can highlight the best areas to optimise processes given a variety of scenarios. And when those scenarios materialise, the company will be in pole position to unlock the business growth vital to get the winning start.
Businesses, like F1 teams, have become digitally-led. Marrying data, simulations, and what happens in practice (or racing conditions in this instance) can be the differentiator between grabbing the chequered flag or finishing in second place.