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Oracle and Red Bull Racing have strengthened their relationship by announcing a new team name, Oracle Red Bull Racing, as well as the RB18, the team’s new car for the 2022 Formula 1 Racing Championship. The team’s 2022 season will feature expanded use of Oracle Cloud across its most important areas of operation, including analytics-based race strategy, optimized engine development, AI and machine learning-powered driver training, and a tailored fan experience.
The financial terms of the sponsor partnership were not disclosed, but a variety of sources have stated that it the sponsor deal is worth roughly $100 million each year in a 5-year commitment.
“Oracle Cloud enabled us to make race-day decisions that helped Max Verstappen win the 2021 Drivers’ Championship,” said Christian Horner, Team Principal and CEO at Oracle Red Bull Racing. “Discovering and reacting to opportunities quickly, is crucial to our success on and off the track, and Oracle is integral in that effort. Every element of our performance is driven by data analysis. Having Oracle as our title partner shows the confidence we have in their expertise and their ability to deliver a true competitive advantage.”
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Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
During last season’s championship run, the team used Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) to boost the number of simulations they conducted by 1,000x in order to improve the accuracy of their forecasts and sharpen their decision-making. They also increased simulation speed by tenfold, giving race planners more time to make the proper decision. Moreover, OCI greatly decreased the cost of billions of simulations, allowing the team to enhance track performance in a cost-effective manner, which is vital for success under F1’s strict expenditure constraints.
This season, OCI would allow the Oracle Red Bull Racing Team to examine a greater volume and diversity of data, as well as boost the pace at which simulations run, in order to better forecast winning tactics.
Connection with Supporters
Oracle Red Bull Racing plans to continue to provide an extraordinary experience to its worldwide fan base, in addition to its innovative on-track efforts. Last season, Oracle and Red Bull Racing introduced The Red Bull Racing Paddock, a first-of-its-kind fan loyalty program powered by OCI, to provide F1 excitement to fans all around the world. Red Bull Racing has witnessed a 9x rise in member sign-ups since The Paddock’s debut.
The team’s new, direct channel of connection with supporters has resulted in high levels of interaction, with registered fans asking the team thousands of questions and redeeming 35,000 digital incentives. Oracle Red Bull Racing will introduce additional features and capabilities in 2022, including the option to produce user-generated material, to provide fans with an even more personalized experience.
“The presence of Oracle, one of the world’s largest cloud technology companies, as title partner not only signals huge confidence in Red Bull Racing’s ability to lead the technology race on track, it will also enable us to drive forward our ambitions for fan engagement, a core tenet of our marketing strategy,” said Oliver Hughes, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Oracle Red Bull Racing. “We want to take fans with us on our competitive journey in F1, putting them right at the heart of the racing action and Oracle’s world class innovation and technology will help us achieve that goal.”
“Red Bull Racing has been more committed than any other F1 team in its use of technology to gain an edge, and it is paying off,” said Ariel Kelman, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Oracle. “Our commitment to this partnership reflects our belief that OCI is a strategic weapon on race day, helps create the most exciting fan experience in sports, and can define the future of F1. Oracle Red Bull Racing is, and will continue to be, the most forward-thinking and innovative F1 team in the world.”
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OCI Powers Engine Development, Driver Training, and Esports Team
Oracle is collaborating with Red Bull Powertrains to build the next generation of Formula One engines, which will debut in 2026 and make Red Bull Racing one of just four current engine suppliers to the sport. To cut expenses while increasing outcomes, Red Bull Powertrains will employ OCI to improve modeling of their new engine combustion chamber.
In addition, Red Bull Advanced Technologies and Oracle have formed a partnership to aid in the development of the next generation of world-class drivers. Red Bull’s younger drivers will have a better understanding of how data can inform and fine-tune their driving style to cut lap times through initiatives utilizing AI and machine learning.
Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports is the next step in the growth of a cooperation in esports, one of the world’s fastest-growing sporting industries. The team will employ OCI-powered analytics to optimize car set-up, enhance racing strategy, and offer its drivers with training that will let them consistently achieve perfect lap times on any virtual circuit, in every simulated weather, taking a page from its real-world equivalent.
The Formula 1 2022 season is kicked off on March 18-20 with the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Bahrain.
