What’s Faster Than an F1 Car? The Data Behind the Race

Technology has always been central to Formula One, but it’s playing an increasingly important role in how races are brought to fans around the world.

Ahead of the United States Grand Prix, which ran Friday through Sunday in Austin, Texas, I got a behind-the-scenes look at the on-site production facilities and how data is analyzed and turned into broadcast insights that help viewers – newcomers like me included – better understand the action unfolding on the track.

F1 has surged in popularity in the US in recent years, driven by factors like increased social media exposure, new race destinations and a more personal connection with drivers, thanks in part to Netflix’s hit docuseries Drive to Survive. And with cars reaching speeds of up to 230 miles per hour, it’s easy to see what makes the sport so thrilling.

More from CNET

But those cars aren’t just lightning-fast; they’re also data-gathering machines. Each F1 car generates around 1.1 million data points per second from 300 sensors. Technology partners like Amazon Web Services help process and analyze that information, turning complex data into insights that anyone, from casual viewers to die-hard data nerds, can understand and enjoy – including race metrics previously available only to production crews. 

Then there are people like me, somewhere in between — intrigued by the F1 frenzy but still learning the rules, technical details and strategies that keep millions of fans invested in every race. That’s where a handful of digital tools can help make sense of the fast-moving action, revealing the stories behind the numbers.

“To know a sport is to love a sport,” said Ruth Buscombe, technical adviser and race strategist at Formula One and AWS motorsports ambassador. “When you look at any kind of relationship you have with something that is a passion, it’s about starting as a novice and then learning about it and falling in love with the details of it. And sports has always been that.” 

Inside the Event Technical Centre, the backbone of F1’s global broadcast

Nestled behind the swanky Paddock Club and team hospitality units sits a white, temporary hangar-like facility called the F1 Event Technical Centre, or ETC. 

This hub is where data from across the circuit is brought together. Dozens of cameras and hundreds of microphones capture the sights and sounds of the race from almost every angle, while each car’s 300 sensors monitor everything from tire pressure to airspeed. For broadcast production, these feeds and data streams are then sent to F1’s Media & Technology Centre in Biggin Hill, UK.

Construction of the tent-like ETC, which spans 375 square meters (about 4,036 square feet), begins 10 days before the race and takes five days to complete. The process includes laying a network of over 58 kilometers (around 36 miles) of fiber-optic cables, as well as data antennas that enable two-way information transfer to and from the cars speeding around the track. 

Up to 28 ultra-high-definition trackside cameras capture the action, alongside cable cams, helicopters, drones, free-roaming cameras and slow-motion cameras. More than 90 cameras are mounted directly on the cars, with up to eight views available from each. The 150 microphones positioned around the circuit capture the quintessential sounds of an F1 race, from the roar of the engines to the screech of the tires (now coming in clear to viewers with Dolby Atmos on Apple TV, along with Dolby Vision).

Inside the ETC, around 140 technical, operations and TV production crew members work side by side, surrounded by glowing switchboards, computer screens and monitors displaying the on-track action, including close-up shots of the cars and sweeping aerial views of the circuit.

In one room, timekeepers track lap times to within one ten-thousandth of a second, with additional timekeepers based at the UK’s Media & Technology Centre. Behind them, teams process and relay data from cameras, audio feeds and car sensors to their headquarters in Europe to support real-time strategy decisions. Sensors positioned around the track every 150 meters also help with vehicle tracking and positioning maps, as well as monitoring potential violations, such as speeding in the pit lane. An operations team at the back ensures the ETC and UK command center are in sync.

In another room, directors decide which shots to use and when to cut to replays or add graphics, which are also handled by team members in this area. A separate crew monitors the team radio, which is delayed by around 20 seconds so they can add subtitles and, importantly, bleep out any swear words.

At the far end of the ETC, a wall of routers and servers transmits the live camera feeds, audio and data to the UK’s Media & Technology Centre. There, production teams turn those feeds into the international broadcast watched by around 1.6 billion viewers.

“We have this really diverse fan base, and we have a complicated story to tell,” said Dean Locke, executive director of broadcast at Formula One. It’s not just the fan base that’s diverse, but also the ways people tune in – whether they’re watching on a big screen, a tablet or a phone.

“The way we develop graphics, the way we develop footage, that is something that we keep in mind,” Locke said. “Is it hitting every single fan?”

Giving fans deeper insights with Track Pulse

Formula One partnered with AWS in 2018, moving much of its computing infrastructure from on-premises data centers to the cloud. AWS also helps F1 refine race strategies, improve digital broadcasts and collect and analyze data, of which there is plenty. 

Now, F1 and AWS are making Track Pulse, a tool the broadcast team has used since 2023, available to fans for the first time this season. 

Track Pulse sifts through vast amounts of data from each car’s sensors to highlight the moments and decisions that can shape a race. From sudden changes in pace to shifting weather conditions to tire strategies, these callouts can help viewers better understand not just what’s happening on track but also why it matters. 

“It’s near impossible to have enough pairs of eyes to monitor all 22 cars at the same time and really pick up on the small details of what’s happening,” said Jerome Descreux, AWS senior engagement manager. That’s why broadcast teams have been using Track Pulse to help determine what to spotlight for viewers. And now, viewers can tap into those insights themselves via F1’s data channel, whether they’re watching in the US through Apple TV or internationally with an F1 TV Pro or Premium subscription. 

The interface is a data-rich dashboard with developing “stories,” as they’re called, on the left side, such as when a driver is quickly catching up to another. Track Pulse also displays live team radio transcripts, allowing viewers to peek into the conversations impacting the race. The goal is to distill the endless raw data into elements viewers may be interested in exploring and following.  

For instance, during the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, Track Pulse flagged a moment when George Russell rapidly closed the gap between him and Lewis Hamilton. The tool highlighted this point because of just how quickly Russell was catching up. Track Pulse also noted that Hamilton was using the same tires for an unusually long time, giving fans further insight into the decisions shaping the action on track. 

“We need to make sure that we’re bringing our fans on the journey,” said Formula One IT Director Chris Roberts. “For those people that are really technical, we’re not dulling things down so that it’s a bit boring for them, but also for those fans that are on a learning journey, we’re giving them the information that allows them to understand the sport at different levels.”

On the broadcast side, Track Pulse’s AI insights complement the F1 production team’s work, helping them sift through millions of data points to identify key race moments and turn them into digestible insights for people hungry to understand more of the action.

“We originally designed [Track Pulse] to be a producer’s tool,” Locke said. “Then we realized the power of it as a storytelling device. And it could crunch data and create story cards and tell us things that are going on in the races that even an entrenched producer of 20 years wasn’t seeing.”

He added, “Once someone gets into Formula One, they realize how much depth there is, and I think Track Pulse explains it quite well.”

Getting deeper insights with AI  

AWS also powers around two dozen data-driven F1 Insights, as they’re called, which add real-time analysis to live broadcasts. One example is the Battle Forecast, which estimates how many laps it might take for a chasing car to get close enough to attempt an overtake. The prediction is based on information like track history and projected driver pace, giving viewers a better sense of when the action could heat up.

Tire Performance is another insight that helps fans understand how different driving styles affect tire longevity and how tire condition can influence pit stop timing. And Close to the Wall uses specialized cameras and deep neural network algorithms to track a car’s trajectory in real time and calculate just how close it is to a wall, since even a slight brush at high speeds can affect lap times or damage the car’s carbon-fiber components.

Today, fans can essentially tap into the same data that teams and strategists have long used to gain even the slightest edge over their competitors.

“[Teams and strategists] have been doing this for 70 years before anybody at home got to see it,” Buscombe said. “And now, AWS is using the exact same data, doing the exact same math, creating the exact same insights. But rather than it just being a black box where the Formula One teams get to have all the fun, now you, as a fan sitting on your sofa – whether it’s your first race or your 1,000th – you get to see the same kind of data. And those are the F1 insights that pop up on screen.”

Tech and data are set to play an even bigger role in the sport, particularly with AWS now serving as the official AI and cloud computing partner of the FIA, Formula One’s governing body. The partnership could influence everything from race operations to the design of future cars. Running aerodynamic simulations using AWS cloud computing, for instance, allows the FIA to virtually test how air flows around a car without building physical components, which can potentially speed up development.

This past weekend was my first foray into the world of F1, but the combination of technology, data and high-speed racing has already piqued my interest. I may still have plenty to learn, but at least I have some tools to help me make sense of it all.

Editors’ note: Abrar Al-Heeti’s travel costs for the F1 United States Grand Prix in Austin were covered by AWS. The judgments and opinions of CNET are our own.

Senior Technology Reporter

Abrar's interests include phones, streaming, autonomous vehicles, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. In addition to her current role, she's worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all. See full bio