Why McLaren is hyping AI on its Formula 1 car

Formula 1 has always been a sport of speed, precision, and marginal gains. Behind every driver is a sprawling operation of engineers, strategists, designers, and factory teams looking for tiny advantages wherever they can find them. That has made F1 an attractive proving ground for technology companies, including a growing number of AI firms now working with teams across the grid. The Mc Laren Mastercard Formula 1 Team, the second-oldest team in the sport, is one example. Ahead of this year’s British Grand Prix, McLaren is unveiling a special livery, the exterior design of its cars, created in partnership with Google Gemini. The design draws inspiration from McLaren’s first Formula 1 car, the McLaren M2B, and is meant to nod to the team’s history while highlighting its current push into AI-assisted performance tools. The original M2B. The first Formula 1 car driven by Bruce McLaren in 1966 [Photo: McLaren] “It’s an authentic partnership, and everything we’re doing with Google, particularly Gemini has a clear objective to make the car go faster and gives us access to some of the best technology in the world in an industry that’s moving incredibly fast,” says Dan Keyworth, McLaren’s executive director of performance technology. The livery is the most visible part of the partnership, but the more consequential work is happening behind the scenes. As part of a four-year partnership extension, McLaren has worked with Google Cloud to build custom Gemini-powered tools, including a live data interface used during race weekends. The system pulls information from multiple sources during a session and allows members of the McLaren team to query that data in natural language. “So if you take a qualifying session that’s happened on a Saturday, it used to take us a long time to compare data between two competitors,” says Keyworth. “And, [it] would take a huge amount of human power as well. Now, they can compare with other drivers and competitors and give us insights on how w