How McLaren leverages data for both its F1 and esports teams
Like any Formula 1 team, McLaren is very interested in data. It is an important foundation for success, which is why special attention is paid to the quantity and quality of what is collected and how it is used.
Since 2017, McLaren has also been involved in Formula 1 e-sports, with its own team of professional drivers and engineers, receiving the same level of dedication and support from the company as its counterparts. in their real life, extending their equal focus on race data.
Talking to TechRadar ProLindsey Eckhouse, Director of Licensing, E-Commerce & eSports at McLaren, told us how their partnership with data firm Splunk is pivotal to its success. of both real and virtual Formula 1 for the legendary racing team.
Shadow-ing really F1
McLaren ball (opens in a new tab) is the automaker’s gaming and e-sports division. The virtual team is run very much like the real one, with professional gamers sitting in the cockpits of simulation rigs to compete in the digital Grandsprix.
And just like the real thing, the importance of establishing partnerships with other businesses is crucial to McLaren. Along with Logitech, Shadow has also partnered with PC maker Alienware to provide devices, Tesos for blockchain technology and issue NFTs for its e-sports audience, and OKX for crypto exchanges death.
“It’s really about: how can we work with partners that provide us with an authentic way to bring their technology to life or achieve any of their goals… to leverage their technology and expertise,” said Eckhouse.
From a data perspective, the main partner of both Shadow McLaren and the real-life Formula 1 team is Splunk, a software platform that provides all the analytical capabilities a team requires.
Of particular importance are Splunk Dashboards – a feature that allows data to be customized in its graphical representation, such as telemetry for steering, acceleration and braking inputs, to help drivers and easily understood by engineers at a glance.
“The Splunk dashboard is a prime example of similar technology in exploring many different areas – we can also learn that from an F1 eSports perspective to really inform for our race strategy,” said Eckhouse, adding that the F1 eSports Team’s chief engineer actually works on the team in real life, “so once again there are lessons to be learned. share about strategic development between F1 and F1 e-sports arena.”
“I think Splunk is probably the best example of where we’ve seen their apps migrate to eSports, and luckily last year we saw that deliver some great results. .”, she added, referring to the McLaren Shadow team Win the Builders’ Championship 2022 (opens in a new tab).
Expanding on the partnership with Splunk, Eckhouse explains that the relationship goes both ways:
“When you think about the audience in esports, it’s incredibly engaging; the trend of working in the IT industry in the future or potentially working at Splunk or in eSports is also very high, so there are a lot of different applications where I think Splunk benefits from the partnership and we certainly benefit from using their technology.”