Technical Details
F1 has upgraded its telemetry system with Lenovo, reducing the delay in transmitting critical data to teams to 0.3 seconds per racing weekend. For modern F1, this is crucial: each championship car is equipped with over 300 sensors, generating around 1.1 million parameters per second. This data is used by the FIA, television services, and racing teams to analyze the car's condition and make operational decisions during the race.
Context and Background
Previously, telemetry was first transmitted from the track to F1's mobile technical center, and then sent to the main media center in Biggin Hill, UK, where additional processing and distribution took place. However, the growth in data volume made this architecture inefficient. Now, a significant part of the processing takes place directly at the circuit. To achieve this, F1 has deployed Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 V3 servers, ThinkSystem DE4000F storage systems, and ThinkStation P3 Ultra workstations at the tracks.
Industry Impact
The new infrastructure allows for processing and deduplication of around 8 TB of telemetry data directly during the racing weekend. According to F1's IT Director, Chris Roberts, the acceleration is particularly important at the most remote stages of the calendar, where data transmission delays have historically been the highest. Teams can now receive information about engine performance, gearbox, suspension, fuel consumption, overload, and driver actions faster. This enables them to make decisions at the pit wall more quickly — for example, adjusting strategy, responding to technical issues, or choosing the right moment for a pit stop.