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Technology remains central to Formula One as it shapes how races reach billions of viewers around the globe. Ahead of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, CNET explored the on-site production facilities to see how massive amounts of track data are transformed into accessible broadcast insights.
Inside the Event Technical Centre
Every Formula One car acts as a data-gathering machine, generating roughly 1.1 million data points per second from 300 individual sensors. To process this information, F1 relies on its partnership with Amazon Web Services. Behind the Paddock Club in Austin, a temporary white structure known as the Event Technical Centre, or ETC, serves as the operational backbone for the global broadcast.
Constructing the 375-square-meter tent requires five days of work beginning 10 days before the race, including laying over 58 kilometers of fiber-optic cables and setting up data antennas. Inside this facility, about 140 technical, operations, and television production crew members operate side by side. Up to 28 ultra-high-definition cameras capture the action alongside cable cams, helicopters, drones, and more than 90 car-mounted cameras. Additionally, 150 microphones positioned around the circuit record engine roars and tire screeches, which are delivered to viewers with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision.
Timekeepers track lap times to within one ten-thousandth of a second, while other teams process camera, audio, and sensor feeds to support real-time strategy decisions back at European headquarters. Directors manage camera shots, replays, and graphics in another room, and a separate crew oversees a 20-second delayed team radio feed to add subtitles and bleep out swear words. Live camera feeds, audio, and data are then transmitted to F1’s Media & Technology Centre in Biggin Hill, UK, where production teams create the international broadcast for roughly 1.6 billion viewers, as noted by Dean Locke, F1’s executive director of broadcast.
Enhancing Fan Experiences with Track Pulse
Formula One partnered with AWS in 2018 to migrate its computing infrastructure to the cloud. This season, F1 and AWS made Track Pulse available to fans for the first time. Originally deployed as a producer’s tool in 2023, Track Pulse sifts through sensor data from all cars to highlight sudden pace changes, weather shifts, and tire strategies.
Jerome Descreux, AWS senior engagement manager, explained that monitoring 22 cars simultaneously is nearly impossible without automated assistance. The tool provides a data-rich dashboard with live team radio transcripts and developing stories, such as a driver rapidly closing a gap or utilizing tires for an unusual length of time. Viewers can access these insights through F1’s data channel on Apple TV in the US or via an F1 TV Pro subscription internationally. Formula One IT Director Chris Roberts stated that the system aims to provide technical depth without alienating fans who are still learning the sport.
Real-Time AI Insights and Future Developments
AWS also powers roughly two dozen F1 Insights that appear during live broadcasts. The Battle Forecast estimates the number of laps a chasing car needs to attempt an overtake based on track history and driver pace. Tire Performance tracks how driving styles affect tire longevity and pit stop timing, while Close to the Wall uses specialized cameras and deep neural network algorithms to calculate a car’s distance from barriers in real time.
Ruth Buscombe, F1 technical adviser, race strategist, and AWS motorsports ambassador, pointed out that fans can now view the exact same data and math that teams and strategists have utilized for decades. Technology integration will expand further as AWS becomes the official AI and cloud computing partner of the FIA, Formula One’s governing body. This partnership will enable virtual aerodynamic simulations through AWS cloud computing, allowing the FIA to test airflow without constructing physical vehicle components.
