Formula 1’s McLaren-Honda and NTT partners to push motorsport boundaries with technology

Over the course of the partnership, NTT Communications will provide network, cloud, data connectivity and other innovations to meet McLaren’s need for an IT communications platform that delivers optimum performance to support its Formula 1 race team

McLaren-Honda, a pioneer for over 50 years in Formula 1, and NTT Communications Corporation has announced the start of a three-year technology partnership. Under the agreement NTT Communications becomes a Technology Partner to McLaren-Honda. Over the course of the partnership, NTT Communications will provide network, cloud, data connectivity and other innovations to meet McLaren’s need for an IT communications platform that delivers optimum performance to support its Formula 1 race team.

Ron Dennis, Chairman and CEO, McLaren Technology Group that includes the McLaren-Honda team said, “NTT Communications has a resilient and high-capacity network that will allow the team to access its systems without delays.”

NTT Communications will offer Wide Area Network (WAN) and Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) services to McLaren across multiple countries including UK, Spain, US, Singapore and Japan. During race weekends, this network is critical to support the transmission of data in real-time from McLaren’s race cars to the company’s technology and engineering teams based in the UK. NTT Communications will combine the management of WAN and LAN (Local Area Network) services to provide a seamless and consistently managed network to increase the quality, resilience and availability of end to end ICT services.

NTT Communications will offer its enhanced Enterprise Cloud 2.0 services to provide a platform from which McLaren can consume dedicated and shared computing and storage resources on a Pay-As-You-Go model. This service, together with the NTT Communications consulting practice and Cloud Management Platform (CMP), will offer McLaren a strong opportunity to deliver on its technology transformation strategy.

NTT Communications and McLaren will also work together to explore other advanced technologies capable of enhancing the performance of the team.

Tetsuya Shoji, President and CEO, NTT Communications said: ” With innovation a part of the DNA of both companies, this partnership will help McLaren-Honda transform how it manages the data generated during Formula 1 races and transcend hitherto established boundaries in motorsports racing.”