Enabling innovation in sport: our fast-moving relationship with F1®

It’s been three years since we began working with Formula 1®  and I wanted to share our experiences and key learnings from the sport. Tata Communications and Formula 1® were an obvious match from the start – we have the largest wholly-owned subsea cable network, they stage motor racing all over the world – sometimes in remote and challenging locations. It really is a match made in heaven.

Race-goers don’t see the enormous technical set-up that enables Formula 1® races to take place, but it really is a labour of love. Month by month, Tata Communications sets up the equivalent of an entire town’s infrastructure in two days and dismantles it all in just three hours. This process would traditionally take two to four weeks.

As well as a feat of logistics, the quality of service provided is second-to-none. Fans are keen to keep up to speed with the action in real time, so loss of content, even for a nanosecond, is simply not an option.

In 2013, we took our relationship with Formula 1® to the next level, signing a deal with MERCEDES AMG PATRONAS. We now provide track connectivity for the Mercedes team from their Silver Arrow cars to the UK headquarters, allowing Mercedes engineers to make data-led decisions, ultimately helping the team to cross the finishing line first.

Not happy to stop there, in 2014 so we teamed up with the official F1® broadcaster Chello DMC, which distributes to the Dutch television channel Sport1. With the help of Tata Communications, six high quality live video feeds from 19 races were aired on Sport1 last season. Fans were able to watch unrivalled coverage of the races on multiple devices, including TVs, tablets, smartphones and laptops.

Also in 2014, we decided that more people could benefit from our relationship with Formula 1®. So we launched the F1® Connectivity Innovation Prize to pave the way for further technological innovation and a new era of fan experience through innovative creative thinking from fans.

This is something that we plan to make bigger and better in 2015, so watch this space to find out how you can take part.

Tata Communications was the Official Connectivity Provider of Formula 1® between 2012 and 2019. Tata Communications was also the Official Managed Connectivity Supplier to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, and Official Digital Transformation Partner to ROKiT Williams Racing until the end of the 2019 season.