Lenovo machines simulate night race for AT&T Williams

Darius Chang | Sep 24, 2008

Like all F1 teams, the partnership between Lenovo and AT&T Williams means that the Chinese company provides the PC hardware required for race analysis. Formula One has evolved to such a point that the skill of the driver is as important as the technology behind him. At the Fairmont hotel in Singapore, the AT&T Williams team explained the need for top-notch hardware for the race.

From left to right: Steve Dawson, F1 presenter for ESPN; Chris Kelly, director of Lenovo Enterprise Systems; Nico Rosberg, F1 driver; Alex Burns, COO of AT&T Williams.

Instead of a key, each car is started by a laptop that instantly determines if the vehicle is operating at accepted parameters. During the race itself, telemetry readings ensure that the car is optimized for track conditions. Immediately after the last lap, the driver will compare his driving analysis with his teammates and see how he can shave a few more seconds off his time. All require immense computer power as up to 15GB of telemetry data can be accumulated over a race weekend. For this purpose, Lenovo has provided 71 ThinkPads, 47 ThinkCentres and 131 ThinkStations for the team, not to mention undisclosed numbers of servers as well.

Like other street circuits, the upcoming night race in Singapore poses a new challenge for the drivers and engineers. The race track is normally analyzed with lasers to model every bump on the road. This is not possible as the Singapore event will be held along city streets. As such, even if the roads were cleared for such a purpose, normal traffic would have changed the track conditions before the first flag off. Moreover, concrete barriers have been erected to prevent any car from racing into buildings. These elements can easily throw off a driver who has to deal with additional input and stress compared with regular track races.

As such, Lenovo machines were used to model a realistic simulation of the race so that its drivers, like Nico Rosberg, have a chance to be familiarized before race day. This allows them to determine which corner can be blasted through, and where it would be best to overtake the competition. In a technical race like the F1, there is no room for error or second chances.

Filed under: PC & Peripherals
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