Lotus F1 Team limbers up for the 2014 season

With the 2014 season getting under way this weekend, every team will be hoping that the hard work they have put in to their car design – the months of testing and tweaking – will be enough to push their drivers into pole position. In Formula 1, even one tenth of a second can make the difference between first and second place, and teams are under pressure to be incredibly efficient every step of the way to make sure not even a millisecond is wasted.

This year, regulation changes introduced by the FIA – the most radical technical changes in the history of the sport – have made the process more challenging still.

Teams will now be powered by highly sophisticated power units combining turbocharged internal combustion engines and potent energy recovery systems harvesting energy from exhaust (thermal energy) and braking (mechanical energy) ; as well as having to abide by new restrictions on the design of the car itself.

Lotus F1 Team
Lotus F1 Team

March 13, 2014
Teams are under pressure to be incredibly efficient every step of the way

 

This has made the design process more intricate than it has ever been before, requiring a significantly higher number of drawings and tests to get the design perfect. The changes have prompted one F1 team in particular – Lotus F1 Team – to integrate the latest technologies into its processes to boost the efficiency of the whole team, from the design phase begins to the moment the car crosses the finish line.

Since 2012, Lotus F1 Team teamed with Microsoft to revolutionise its approach to the use of technology across its entire business. The team has around half the budget of some of the other big players in Formula 1, which means that it has to think outside of the box to find ways to achieve the same level of success as its bigger competitors.

Through its business transformation with Microsoft Dynamics – and the wider implementation of Microsoft technology –Lotus F1 Team has completely overhauled the way in which it uses technology, in the hope that this efficiency will give it the edge it needs to punch in the same weight class as the competition.

Lotus F1 Team using Microsoft Dynamics
Lotus F1 Team using Microsoft Dynamics

March 13, 2014

 

Microsoft technology helps the team in a number of different ways, right from the planning and design phase, all the way through to analysis of performance on the track.

Microsoft Dynamics enables businesses to rapidly deploy and be forward-looking in an ever-changing world. Nowhere is this more vital than in the fast-paced world of Formula 1. Lotus F1 Team turned to Microsoft Dynamics AX to build one environment which would integrate its resource planning, performance and manufacturing systems, change its business processes, and collect metrics more efficiently.

“Microsoft Dynamics really understands the challenges faced by Lotus F1 Team, which is why we knew that this partnership would be valuable for us,” explains Michael Taylor, IT Director for Lotus F1 Team. “Of all the avenues we explored when we evaluated the ERP market space, the Microsoft Dynamics system came out on top for us. This partnership also opens up ways for us to work with other types of Microsoft technology and gives us the opportunity to work directly with Microsoft’s R&D teams.”

A driver in the loop simulator in action
A driver in the loop simulator in action

March 13, 2014

 

All of this improved process and the increased number of drawings required to meet with new regulations means that the company – and its competitors – have seen a massive influx in the amount of data which they are generating.

The need for space to house this data is only going to get more urgent; the amount of data collected by a car during a Formula 1 race has shot up at an incredible rate over the last ten years, and is continuing to increase year on year. Last year, cars collected around 15-20 MBs of data per lap; this year, it is anticipated that this will be upwards of 25 MBs.

Formula 1 is one of the most technologically advanced sports in the world, and in order to keep up with the rate of change, companies need to have robust technology in place to make sure that they are ready not just for this season, but for future seasons to come.

Driver in the loop simulator control room
Driver in the loop simulator control room

March 13, 2014

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