Category Archives: formula one

Navigating Speed, Strategy & Innovation in Motorsport and Beyond

Mark Preston shares his extensive career in motorsport and mobility innovation, detailing his engineering roles at Arrows and McLaren, founding Super Aguri F1, and successes in Formula E. He discusses leadership, strategic clarity, and the application of AI in autonomous vehicles, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning and high-performance teams.

How to become an F1 Technical Director

🚀 Thrilled to share my journey in motorsport through the “How to Become an F1 Technical Director” interview. I reflected on my transition from a mechanical engineer in Australia. This journey led me to work with some of the top teams in Formula 1 and Formula E. It has been an incredible experience. The keyContinue reading “How to become an F1 Technical Director”

Move the Ball: Mark Preston, Pushing the Boundaries in Motorsports and Beyond

Mark Preston’s journey in motorsports, from his early days on an Australian farm to groundbreaking achievements in Formula 1 and Formula E, reflects his passion, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit. As Motorsport Director at Lola Cars, he continues to drive innovation with a focus on sustainability, marking him as a significant figure in the evolution of motorsports.

The StreetDrone Origin Story

STREETDRONE STORY_ If you want to understand how StreetDrone came to be, simply visit their office courtyard around the end of June every summer. The StreetDrone Summer Party has become legendary in the tech industry in the UK. In this little corner of Oxford, you’ll find autonomous vehicles running nonchalantly up and down the roadContinue reading “The StreetDrone Origin Story”

Communication and the Use of LLMs in Motorsports

During his tenure at Arrows Grand Prix in 1999, the author used genetic algorithms to enhance F1 cars’ performance, a pioneering move at a time of limited computing power. Moving to McLaren, he considered implementing an ‘on-prem’ Google server to harness the team’s vast ’embedded knowledge.’ Experiencing communication difficulties at the Super Aguri team, he experimented with relocating pitwall engineering and exploring texting for in-car communication. Owing to computing advancements, machine learning has evolved, with tools like ChatGPT facilitating enhanced race communications and decision-making based on a data-informed ‘prompt engineering.’

Winning ways in Buenos Aires

Wow, what a weekend! Amlin Aguri’s first win in the FIA’s first fully electric championship! It is an amazing feeling to get a result after all the work put in by the team over the last three years. “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.” Plus it takes a lot of work to start a newContinue reading “Winning ways in Buenos Aires”

Formtech launches the E1 research concept EV

Formtech created a vision of EV when they launched the E1 atFrankfurt’s IAA Motorshow in September.  The research study provides the base for a number of concepts in lightweighting technology using composites, high-end materials and machining. Formtech’s EV started out as a concept for the companies CEO Franz Hilmer, “I wanted to develop a carContinue reading “Formtech launches the E1 research concept EV”

Randomness and Excitement – Part II

As a follow on to my blog last year where I discussed how randomness drives excitement in F1, the first few races of 2011 certainly provided some interesting racing with KERs, DRS and Pirelli providing a set of variables that the teams have not yet completely mastered. However as I was watching the German GP recently IContinue reading “Randomness and Excitement – Part II”