How AI Is Driving Formula One’s Racing Future

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming part of Formula One’s future, changing how teams compete, operate, and promote themselves in one of the world’s most technology-driven sports. Formula One has always depended on speed, engineering, and data, but AI is now becoming a bigger part of both on-track performance and off-track business strategy. With eight new AI partnerships signed in the past six months alone, the sport is showing how quickly artificial intelligence is moving from a side tool to a central part of racing.

One of the clearest examples is the partnership between Atlassian Williams F1 team and Anthropic, the AI company behind the Claude model. Williams, a nine-time constructors’ champion, is using the partnership to support team operations and race strategy. Williams board adviser Peter Kenyon explained that this is “much more than a sticker on a car,” saying the team sees AI as a way to help its journey back to the top. In the past, Formula One cars were strongly associated with tobacco sponsorships, but today, AI and technology companies are becoming some of the sport’s most important partners.

AI is especially valuable because Formula One teams must work under strict rules and cost limits. The current cost cap is set at $215 million, making efficiency more important than ever. Technology is already one of the biggest spending areas in Formula One, reaching an estimated $769 million last season, up 41% from the year before. AI and machine learning brands now make up four of the top 15 new sponsorship investors in the sport, including CoreWeave, a cloud infrastructure company valued at $65 billion, which has partnered with Aston Martin F1.

The financial growth around AI in Formula One shows how much the sport has changed. In 2025, Formula One reached $2.54 billion in total team sponsorship, making it the second-highest grossing sports property behind the NFL, which reached $2.7 billion. These numbers show that AI is not only changing race strategy, but also reshaping the business side of the sport. For technology companies, Formula One offers global exposure and a chance to show how their tools can work in one of the most demanding sports environments.

On the track, AI is helping teams handle administrative tasks, understand technical rules, and make faster decisions during races. Jack Harington, group partnership lead for Oracle Red Bull Racing, said AI has moved from basic searching to a more “agentic” approach, where it can help provide decisions. Red Bull, home to four-time champion Max Verstappen, has partnered with Oracle and uses its technology across the team. This allows engineers to focus more on their main responsibilities and react faster during high-pressure race situations.

Major technology companies are also using Formula One as a stage to showcase their AI products. Google’s partnership with McLaren has shifted from Google Pixel to Google Gemini, showing how generative AI is becoming part of the sport’s branding. Formula One itself has embraced AI through its partnership with Amazon Web Services, using generative AI for live television broadcasting. In 2024, generative AI was also used in the design process for the Montreal trophy before it was crafted by a silversmith in the United Kingdom. Lenovo, one of Formula One’s global partners since 2022, is supporting the sport through laptops, devices, AI PCs, productivity tools, mobility, and remote collaboration. As AI continues to grow, Formula One is becoming more than just a racing competition. It is turning into a global showcase for how artificial intelligence can improve performance, business, broadcasting, and teamwork all at once.

Works Cited

Neto, Streisand. “As Formula One Evolves, AI Becomes Part of the Race.” Reuters, 4 May 2026, www.reuters.com/technology/formula-one-evolves-ai-becomes-part-race-2026-05-04/. 

Neto, Streisand. “Motor Racing-As Formula One Evolves, AI Becomes Part of the Race.” MSN, 4 May 2026, www.msn.com/en-us/sports/cycling/motor-racing-as-formula-one-evolves-ai-becomes-part-of-the-race/ar-AA22lt56. 

Neto, Streisand. “As Formula One Evolves, AI Is Fast Becoming a Crucial Part of the Race.” TimesLIVE, 4 May 2026, www.timeslive.co.za/motoring/2026-05-04-as-formula-one-evolves-ai-is-fast-becoming-a-crucial-part-of-the-race/. 

Formula 1 and Amazon Aim for AI-Powered Personalized Race Viewing. Bloomberg, 23 June 2024, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-23/formula-1-and-amazon-aim-for-ai-powered-personalized-race-viewing. 

Part 3: Can AI Outrace Instinct in F1? NextTech Today, www.nexttechtoday.com/featured/part-3-can-ai-outrace-instinct-in-f1/.