Where Information Technology Meets The Road
reproduced by the kind permission of AMD UK
The world of Formula One is rapidly evolving and as the sport becomes more and more technologically advanced, Information Technology companies are becoming more and more critical to the success of individual racing teams in what has become one of the world's most competitive endeavors. Today, all top-tier Formula One teams have sophisticated IT departments that are just as highly trained and well equipped as the most powerful companies in the world. Imagine taking a typical enterprise computing environment, with all the requirements of today's competitive high-tech business applications, and placing it in the middle of a Formula One racing pit.
AMD recognized the need for cutting-edge solutions in this unique computing environment and in 2002 struck a deal with Scuderia Ferrari to become the team's official sponsor and technology partner. Ferrari, the most famous and dominating team in Formula One has amassed an unprecedented 13 constructor's titles and 13 driver's titles. From the very beginning this relationship went well beyond the traditional definition of a sponsorship and involved more than just providing technology products. AMD and Ferrari share the same strength, passion, and determination to compete and win in some of the most competitive environments in the world.
The partnership among Scuderia Ferrari and AMD is based on common vision and values of excellence, competitiveness, and respect for people, determination and passion.
"Ferrari is a company that shares many of the same core values of AMD: excellence, competitiveness and respect for people. Because we recognize that they also share our strength to compete, along with a passion and determination to win, becoming their official technology partner was a natural choice," said Henri Richard, executive vice president of world wide sales and marketing at AMD.
But sharing a common vision and holding common values is not enough to win in Formula One racing. The driving force behind the success of this technical partnership lies with the implementation of AMD's cutting-edge technology. AMD supplies the Ferrari Formula One team with powerful and reliable AMD processor-based mobile PC systems and workstations for real-time performance diagnostics, fluid dynamics simulations, and telemetry applications.
"People expect leading performance from a Ferrari racecar; to deliver this level of performance we need reliable partners that are able to support our growing demands," said Jean Todt, Director General of Ferrari. "AMD technology has proven to be the winning one for our needs".
Over the past year the Ferrari IT department and engineers have been transitioning to the new and innovative AMD64 Technology, which expands the industry-standard 32-bit x86 architecture to support the demands of 64-bit computing, while maintaining full compatibility with all current software. Thanks to AMD64 technology the Ferrari IT department can preserve its investments in sophisticated and customized 32-bit software, while increasing overall performance and having the ability to migrate to 64-bit applications at their pace.
AMD supplies Ferrari with powerful and reliable mobile PC systems and workstations based on the AMD Opteron™, AMD Athlon™ 64, mobile AMD Athlon™ 64, and AMD Athlon™ 64 FX processors for faster real-time performance diagnostics, fluid dynamics simulations, and telemetry applications.
In Maranello, Italy the famous "Galleria del Vento," or Wind Tunnel, designed by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano, is equipped with the most modern data acquisition systems, and highly sophisticated force measuring systems in the world. The high-performing AMD Opteron™ based solutions are used by Ferrari engineers to simulate and analyze the performance of Ferrari's Fl cars.
"Simulation and analysis of our single-seat cars in the Wind Tunnel are key steps both in the designing and development phases," said Antonio Calabrese, Ferrari's IT manager. "Considering the amount of data we gathered and the time constraints we face AMD64 technology is helping us process data information faster and react much more quickly." With the increased restrictions enforced upon the teams as a result of the new rules and regulations, simulations and telemetry data analysis are now key elements for Ferrari Team when it comes to planning race strategy. AMD64 Technology solutions used by the team on the race track provide reliable, accurate and prompt data to the Ferrari technical team and drivers.
"Good planning and tactics make all the difference" said Ross Brown, Ferrari Formula One Technical Director. "On the race track, the faster we can analyze telemetry data and discuss car and driver's performances, the better we can plan the race. AMD technology has proven to be reliable and meet our demanding expectations. "
AMD is proud to supply the high-performance computing solutions that help Ferrari win and looks forward to helping to creating many more record breaking seasons for the stable of the Prancing Horse.
About AMD
AMD (NYSE:AMD) designs and produces innovative microprocessors, Flash memory devices and low-power processor solutions for the computer, communications and consumer electronics industries. AMD is dedicated to delivering standards-based, customer-focused solutions for technology users, ranging from enterprises and governments to individual consumers. For more information, visit AMD.com.
