Driving Renault to gain an edge in F1 racing

BESIDES providing expertise to help organisations fight cyber criminals and threats, Microsoft also helps them achieve an edge in their business.

One of its partners is Renault Sport Formula One Team (formerly known as Lotus F1 Team), which it has been working with since 2012.

Describing how Microsoft is helping to drive Renault’s digital transformation, Renault Sport Formula One Team chief information officer Pierre d’Imbleval ( far right) says: “Working with Microsoft has enabled the Renault Sport Team to deploy Microsoft Cloud, including Dynamics AX and Office 365.

“Previously, the Renault team used to ship its physical servers to every location for the 21 races it competes, so that the team members can attain the performance they need.

“Today, with Dynamic AX, the race team can have remote access to data for its off-site facility to develop parts in realtime.”

D’Imbleval explains that in F1, they can only do two physical tests with the cars – once in Barcelona before the season, and the second time in Hungary mid-season.

The team has to resort to using a simulator to replicate racing scenarios in-between the scheduled tests.

But in order to build the simulator, they need precise data. This is where Microsoft’s technology comes in handy.

One of the most difficult car parts to simulate is the tyres. Their performance depends on the temperature, weather conditions, and aggressiveness of the driver.

To understand how tyres degrade, the entire season’s race data will be sent into the cloud. It will then be used to make adjustments to the tyres for the simulation exercise.

D’Imbleval says: “We are using Dynamics 365 for the manufacturing, controlling, and operating environments.

“Once a car part is made, data regarding each car part is tracked with Dynamics 365.”

Apart from cutting down on the weight and maximising the lifespan of a car part, d’Imbleval says this information is also crucial for the safety of the driver as well.

With Microsoft’s help, Renault Sport Formula One Team hopes to gain the edge in F1 racing, and allow it to achieve top performance and speed.