5 Things You Might Have Missed from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Preseason
Blog: The Tibco Blog
With everything happening with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team, you’d think the season has started already.
In the last few weeks, there’s been a lot of exciting preseason events for the Team. From the launch and testing of the new W09 to a new partnership to the team receiving an award at the “Team of the Year”, to the unveiling of the Petronas R&T Centre, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport has been quite busy getting ready for the upcoming F1 season.
The launch of the W09 EQ Power+
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport launched their new car for the 2018 F1 season, the W09 EQ Power+. Over 1,000 people were involved with the redesign of the car, improving the car, finding more speed, and tackling the regulation changes. A few of the notable changes are regulatory for 2018, including the halo (a device aimed at protecting the driver’s head from incidents), the removal of the shark fin engine cover, and T-wing aero devices.
As a result, there is a much-reduced fin on the back of the engine cover and no big T-wing. The new car is also a lot more slender than the W08 in order to improve the airflow around the car to generate more downforce. While the vast majority of the W09’s changes are not clearly obvious and are small in isolation, they add up to make a huge difference in the performance of the car.
Preseason Testing
All teams registered for the season travel to a designated circuit (in this case, it was Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain) a few weeks before the first race to test out their newly-designed cars through their paces over two intense four-day periods. This specific track has been the home to preseason testing for many years due to its challenging nature, a wide range of characteristics, and clement weather.
Over the eight days of testing, the W09 completed 1,040 laps for 4,841 kilometers. The car took 16,640 corners, had 46,800 gear changes, and 41,600,000 fuel injections. Testing has given the Team plenty of data and information to study and dissect before the season begins to make any necessary adjustments to the car’s performance. With TIBCO’s technology, Mercedes-AMG Petronas will be able to use analytics to ensure that the car’s design and testing infrastructure delivers the best outcome.
“Team of the Year” award at the Laureus World Sports Awards
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport received the “Team of the Year” award at the Laureus World Sports Awards. The Team was up against numerous other nominees, including French Davis Cup Tennis squad, Champions League winners Real Madrid, NBA Champions Golden State Warriors, Super Bowl victors New England Patriots and the New Zealand America’s Cup team.
The Team was nominated for the fourth consecutive time, but this was their first time winning it, extending their 2017 championship success. Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s win was also the third time a Formula One team has won an award in its 19-year history.
Partnership with Tommy Hilfiger
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport announced a new partnership with apparel company Tommy Hilfiger. As Official Apparel Partner of the team, Tommy Hilfiger is supplying the Team with brand-new race, travel, factory, office, and hospitality clothing. In light of the partnership, Tommy Hilfiger’s Spring 2018 collection and campaign nods to the fusion of fashion and F1. Lewis Hamilton was also named one of Tommy Hilfiger’s Global Brand Ambassadors for men’s, including Hilfiger Collection, Tommy Hilfiger Tailored and Tommy Hilfiger Menswear, Underwear and Swimwear.
The unveiling of the R&T Centre
Mercedes joined Petronas in Turin, Italy, for the opening of their brand-new $60 million Global Research & Technology (R&T) centre. This centre will be its global R&T hub and latest centre for of excellence — home to automotive and technology testing capabilities and expertise. The facility will play a significant part in the development of fuels for the next generation of road car engines, using technology tested and proven on the race track through its partnership with the team.
Petronas is responsible for the design, development, and delivery of the Fluid Technology Solutions (FTS) that have helped power the team to four consecutive Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles.
Watch as Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport kicks off the 2018 F1 season in Melbourne this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix.
See how TIBCO’s partnership with Mercedes-AMG Petronas given them a competitive advantage with the TIBCO Connected Intelligence platform and System of Insight.
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