Formula One is the world’s most technologically advanced sport. For more than a century, it has been an incubator of future technologies for the automotive, oil and tyre industries. So it is hardly surprising that the motorsport is now attracting companies working in artificial intelligence.
This rapidly evolving technology is set to reshape the data-intensive field of Grand Prix racing. Some engineers are predicting AI could one day take on the full design of a car, but the technology is not expected to replace the driver — autonomous car racing debuted earlier this year in a separate Abu Dhabi-funded motorsport series.
Each F1 car is fitted with 300 sensors, generating 1.1mn data points per second on the track. And the key to improving the performance of car and driver is to process that huge volume of information as quickly as possible — a task that AI makes easier.