Formula 1 Reduced Mobile Data Centers to One Rack
The racing series has shifted telemetry processing back to the track to minimize cargo weight and latency.
Updated on Oct. 11, 2026 in Data Centers
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Formula 1 has consolidated its trackside Event Technical Centre from three IT racks down to a single unit. This infrastructure redesign processes 8TB of telemetry data locally during each race weekend.
Why it matters
Reducing physical infrastructure lowers cargo weight for global transport while maintaining essential processing power at the track. This shift aims to improve hardware redundancy and operational resilience during race events.
The new trackside virtualization platform packs 512 processor cores and 100TB of all-flash storage into a single rack. This hardware handles 8TB of telemetry data per weekend, supporting latency levels as low as 161 milliseconds between Singapore and the UK.
The players
Formula 1
The global governing body for the premier class of international auto racing, managing complex data and broadcast operations.
Lenovo
A global technology manufacturer supplying the servers, storage arrays, and workstations that power F1 trackside computing.
The details
Formula 1 utilizes Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 V3 servers, ThinkSystem DE4000F all-flash storage arrays—high-speed storage that uses memory chips rather than spinning disks—and ThinkStation P3 Ultra workstations. By shifting processing back to the track, the organization mitigates the latency challenges inherent in remote production. This infrastructure manages 650TB of total weekend data, balancing 350TB of car telemetry against 300TB of broadcast media assets.
Timeline
2020: F1 switched to remote production and reduced datacentre size.
January 2025: Lenovo became a global technology partner of F1.
October 2026: Reporting period during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend.
The Tech Race
This move marks a departure from the 2020 transition to remote F1 production by bringing core processing tasks back to the physical race circuit. The shift contradicts the prior trend of centralizing all operations at the Biggin Hill Media & Technology Centre.
The transition ensures lower latency for data transmission between international tracks and the UK, benefiting real-time race diagnostics. This infrastructure change is currently active and deployed across the race calendar.
The takeaway
The move demonstrates that even with high-bandwidth global connectivity, local edge processing remains critical for performance-sensitive telemetry. Watch for further hardware optimizations as Formula 1 continues its technology partnership with Lenovo.
Further reading
For more on the hardware powering edge computing, explore our coverage in Data Centers.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Computer Weekly.
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