Formula 1 has been a global sport for the majority of its existence, with its core product being the TV broadcast. In-person attendance matters, of course, but before most fans ever set foot on a racetrack, they watch the magic of F1 on TV first. This is the hook, and what creates intrigue and builds fandom for life. And, as I had the chance to find out at the Canadian Grand Prix last month, packaging one of the world’s most complex, technologically advanced, and also logistically challenging sports for a global audience of 820 million worldwide is no easy feat. That’s where Lenovo comes in.
Lenovo is the official technology partner of F1, but in an age when there’s an “official chocolate of F1,” it’s easy to take these partnerships with a grain of salt. That was more or less how I felt about this until I learned how the tech company helps bring the magic of F1 not just to fans but also to the teams themselves. Plus, after going behind the scenes at its on-track Event Technical Center (ETC), I understood that everyone, including me (!), directly benefits from these two giant brands working together.
I witnessed a real-life, real-time test of all the tech infrastructure at the track, which involved deploying both the Safety Car and Medical Car to lap the circuit while the teams responsible for broadcasting, Timing & Scoring, and in-car telemetry ran simulations to get ready for the big day. It was equal parts intriguing and intense. Unfortunately, due to the sensitive nature of the action that takes place inside the ETC, I couldn’t take any photos or videos, so the ones you see have been provided by Lenovo.
Infrastructure
Before any tests like the one I witnessed could take place, any TV broadcasting, and literally any actual lapping by F1 cars, Lenovo and F1 must install a small city’s worth of tech infrastructure at any given track. Now, you may think that because most of these are permanent circuits, they’d have a lot of it installed already, but the truth is that F1 runs on such a precise and controlled environment, and must deliver with extreme accuracy and uniformity whether it’s in Australia or Las Vegas, that most of the sensors, wiring, TV cameras, and networking is brought in and installed days ahead of the GP.
Some of the outrageous facts I learned involved the installation of sensors and wiring across the track. Have you ever wondered how the Race Director knows if a car jumped a start, or even moved one millimeter when it should be completely stationary while the lights are going off? It’s not just the car’s transponder or telemetry that can show this, as that would have to be requested for review. There are also sensors literally drilled a foot into the ground right below the grid brackets for each car. You don’t see them on TV because the hole is filled with tarmac on top, so they’re invisible, but they’re there.
Combined with 32 miles of wiring, hundreds of internet routers, lighting systems (either for night races or yellow flags, safety cars, etc), relay points, closed-circuit cameras, HD TV cameras, and the appropriate personnel, I started getting a sense of just what has to go on behind the scenes to be prepared for the very first lap of Friday Practice.
Event Technical Center (Traveling)
I’m not a techie, but even I can understand the massive figures behind the ETC, which is the largest and most complex traveling facility of its kind in the world. It houses 750 pieces of equipment running 40 bespoke software systems, primarily for broadcasting, timing, comms, scoring, and wirelessly transmitting huge amounts of data with minimal lag. In fact, over a race weekend, it processes 350,000 to 400,000 timing transponder passing events, produces 750 to 800 pages of official electronic documents, and generates approximately 300 to 400 GB of data per track outing. In total, Lenovo claims to process about 8 terabytes of data per racing weekend, including broadcast and telemetry data, which is linked in real time to the ETC’s mothership, the Media & Technology Center, in the U.K. More on that one in a bit.
Going inside the ETC was pretty neat, mostly because you feel like you’re entering a combination of Dr. Evil’s lair, a major airport’s control tower, and a government’s situation room of sorts. Security is very tight; only certain people have access to it. It’s pretty dark inside to keep temperatures somewhat cool, given all the servers and computers, and you really only see the glow of the monitors and little lights from the computers. There are multiple rooms inside it, all separated by sliding doors, so teams can have their own little environments inside the ETC tent’s footprint, which is roughly 80 feet by 50 feet.
Most impressively, however, all the stuff is fully packed by Sunday night and shipped by Monday after the race, at the latest. Also, much to my surprise, while there are two outer structures (essentially high-end circus tents) so they can travel ahead on back-to-back races, there is only one ETC in terms of tech equipment, so F1’s shipping partner, DHL, has to take really good care of it as it travels around the world.
Other figures: Lenovo’s virtualization platform provides the power to run 1.4 THz of compute across 512 CPU Cores, 8.2 TB of RAM, and 100 TB of flash storage.
Media and Technology Centre (Stationery)
While the ETC plays a big role, the serious magic really happens in the M&TC at Biggin Hill, U.K. This is the brand-new, state-of-the-art production and technology facility that handles tasks such as remote racking and color correction for all broadcast cameras. This is where the global TV feed is distributed to 180+ territories worldwide. Likewise, it plays a key role in processing in-car telemetry data for the teams to use in strategy and decision-making. Together, the ETC and M&TC transfer over 650 terabytes of data per event weekend, with bandwidth peaking at around 8.5 Gbps at the start of an event.
The MT&C runs over 180 bespoke software systems comprising more than 4 million lines of code, 70 virtual machines providing 1.7 THz of processing power across 640 CPU cores, 5.9 TB of RAM, and 105 TB of flash storage. And when it comes to transmission lag, Lenovo has reduced latency in delivering data to the F1 teams by up to 0.3 seconds (as measured at the most geographically distant races on the calendar), though it did not share more specifics on where it originally started.
Fun fact: Because shit happens sometimes, the ETC and MT&C have the ability to back each other up in case something goes awry. When it does—and it does—Lenovo and F1 have been able to continue broadcasting worldwide without a hitch. In other words, even when things go wrong, viewers never actually realize it.
Car-Team Telemetry
Each F1 car is equipped with over 300 sensors, which generate a tidal wave of data. Because tidal wave is not an actual unit of measurement, here are some real figures shared by Lenovo: On any given second, an F1 car generates 1.1 million data points that are shared directly with the teams, F1, and the FIA. So whether it’s Mercedes trying to figure out Antonelli’s strategy, or the stewards analyzing in-car data during a pit stop or a yellow flag, these sensors wirelessly communicate vital data to the necessary parties so they can make the decisions they need to make. Sometimes these decisions turn into race wins, and sometimes, like in the case of Monaco, they turn into penalties for speeding on the pit lane.
“With 22 cars on the grid, we receive more telemetry data than ever before. That’s why, at the beginning of the 2026 season, we decided it was time to streamline how we process critical car information, such as engine performance, suspension status, gearbox and fuel, G-forces and even the actuation of controls by the driver,” said Chris Roberts, Director of IT at Formula 1. “0.3 seconds might seem like a small margin, but it can make a decisive difference in a sport measured in thousandths of a second.”
Even for a seasoned fan (and reporter) like myself, being able to witness the magic that has to go on behind the scenes so that millions of other people and I can enjoy F1 on the track, on TV at home, or on their smartphones—and not to mention teams at their HQs—was downright impressive.
It’s truly mind-blowing to see the tech and the people that make all of this possible, and I hope that after reading this, you get a better sense of it, too.
Email the author at jerry@thedrive.com