'Hammer time': How TeamViewer revs up Mercedes F1 team, businesses

ADVERTISEMENT

dpo-dps-seal
Welcome, Kapamilya! We use cookies to improve your browsing experience. Continuing to use this site means you agree to our use of cookies. Tell me more!

'Hammer time': How TeamViewer revs up Mercedes F1 team, businesses

Nina Angela Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Clipboard

It’s race weekend. 

Energy is high on the stands from fans and motorsport enthusiasts are thirsty for action on the grid, as 20 cars battle it out for P1. 

But off the track may be where a more critical atmosphere can be felt, as engineers and other integral team members discuss the data that may make or break their team’s chances of winning. 

Because in Formula 1, it’s not just about the speed—it’s a convergence of skill, talent, technology, and data that make the recipe for a sound strategy on the grid. 

ADVERTISEMENT

And with all these present, then it’s hammer time.

Formula 1 as a data-driven sport

Team preparation for each season does not only happen in the gaps in between race weekends. 

Pre-season testing is a critical time for each of the ten contending teams to hone the reliability of their cars. 

For Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, data is of premium importance and it relies on its partner TeamViewer to provide them the crucial information to develop their performance.

The photo below shows seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton in his car, and attached to it are two drop-down screens that show real-time data powered by the TeamViewer Tensor. 

ADVERTISEMENT

IN PHOTO: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in his car with two attached drop-down screens powered by TeamViewer Tensor. (Handout photo)IN PHOTO: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in his car with two attached drop-down screens powered by TeamViewer Tensor. (Handout photo)

During the TeamViewer Singapore Experience Day on Thursday, Sept. 19, in time for the Singapore GP, Hamilton gave a walkthrough of how the Mercedes team practices and how the Tensor is able to generate data for the team. 

“I go out and do a lap and it’s basically a thousand sensors on the car and all these data that you can have where you see where you brake, where you turn, the bumps in each corner. You could see all the way through the corner. You can see the speed you’re taking, the gear you’re taking, tyre temperatures, all these things for starting a lap,” Hamilton said. 

“These are the things you have to prep for, like tyre temperatures to start your lap, engine temperatures to start your lap, engine switches that you might need. We have all these buttons and  controls in the steering wheel that we need to have set perfectly in order to deliver a perfect lap… These will all help you prepare your mind to be able to do what we have to do,” he said.

IN PHOTO: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton speaks as a special guest during the TeamViewer Singapore Experience Day on Sept. 19, 2024. (Handout photo)IN PHOTO: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton speaks as a special guest during the TeamViewer Singapore Experience Day on Sept. 19, 2024. (Handout photo)

He went on to tell how quick access to data TeamViewer helps provide also plays a vital role in speeding up “the process of learning the circuit” during free practice sessions, and how it is effective in immediately putting up data upon request during qualifying sessions where everything runs at a rapid pace. 

Hamilton also emphasized that this unprecedented access to data shows the advancement of the sport. 

ADVERTISEMENT

“Back in the day, before I got here, they didn’t have that sort of thing and so it’s been incredible to see the technology advance and continue to innovate. That’s why our sport is really the best. It’s the pinnacle of technology. It’s innovation every year. So much is built in house, so much is built just for our sport then gets to be used in the outside world,” Hamilton said. 

TeamViewer and its F1 team partnership

It has been three years since the United Kingdom-based Formula 1 team announced its partnership with TeamViewer, a leading global provider of remote connectivity and workplace digitalization solutions. 

From left: James Henderson (Editorial Director, Moxie Insights), Peter Turner (Chief Commercial Officer, TeamViewer), Bradley Lord (Team representative and Chief Communications Officer, Mercedes-AMG), Peter Moore (Chief Revenue Officer, SAP Enterprise Cloud APJ) in a panel discussion during the TeamViewer Singapore Experience Day on Sept. 19, 2024. (Photo by Nina Angela Cruz, ABS-CBN News)From left: James Henderson (Editorial Director, Moxie Insights), Peter Turner (Chief Commercial Officer, TeamViewer), Bradley Lord (Team representative and Chief Communications Officer, Mercedes-AMG), Peter Moore (Chief Revenue Officer, SAP Enterprise Cloud APJ) in a panel discussion during the TeamViewer Singapore Experience Day on Sept. 19, 2024. (Photo by Nina Angela Cruz, ABS-CBN News)

Peter Turner, TeamViewer’s Chief Commercial Officer described working with the Mercedes team as a “real privilege.” 

Meanwhile, Mercedes’ team representative and Chief Communications Officer Bradley Lord emphasized that gone are the days that partnerships with brands only work on the superficial level—of simply plastering their brand’s name on the livery and call it a day. 

Lord said the team is focusing more on “true partnership.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“There was a time when being a partner with a Formula 1 team can go from turning up, writing a cheque, putting in the Instagram account, probably come in some races, enjoy some hospitality and that is job done. TV numbers, great, got a nice marketing return you can quantify in terms of TV visibility, job done,” he said. 

“[But] it’s much more involved and integrated in the process now. The companies that we want to work with, we want to do it for the long term… we’re really working with leaders and innovators in that field,” Lord said. 

According to Turner, trust has been the metric system in which the collaboration between Mercedes and TeamViewer runs on. 

He also recalled Hamilton’s response when he asked him why he and his team use TeamViewer. 

“He said, 'Peter, when I’m pelting down the straight to 200 miles an hour, I need to believe and trust in the car, the engine and everything behind it. I didn’t think about that because I will win. But I have to believe and trust in everything behind it, and that includes all the partners we work with, as well as the engineers, (inaudible), the car, and all the safety mechanisms,'” Turner recalled Hamilton as saying. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Turner added, “He’s got his life on the line and that kind of [emphasized] to me the importance of what we do and collectively as a team. It’s gotta be secure, it’s gotta be safe… when a driver tells you that his life is on the line, you say ‘wow.’”

TeamViewer outside of the sport 

TeamViewer Chief Executive Officer Oliver Steil highlighted how the company is able to drive information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) to deliver unique solutions to each client’s needs.

TeamViewer Chief Executive Officer Oliver Steil speaking during the TeamViewer Singapore Experience Day on Sept. 19, 2024. (Handout photo)TeamViewer Chief Executive Officer Oliver Steil speaking during the TeamViewer Singapore Experience Day on Sept. 19, 2024. (Handout photo)

In the Philippines, while she refused to name the client, TeamViewer president for the Asia-Pacific region Sojung Lee shared that they provide solutions to a fast food franchise company. 

Lee said through the use of smart glasses, TeamViewer was able to help the company train people efficiently without having to send people to each of the fast food outlets where new employees will need training.

TeamViewer president for the Asia-Pacific region Sojung Lee speaking during the TeamViewer Singapore Experience Day on Sept. 19, 2024. (Handout photo)TeamViewer president for the Asia-Pacific region Sojung Lee speaking during the TeamViewer Singapore Experience Day on Sept. 19, 2024. (Handout photo)

“People come and go and from our perspective, we need to give them training. From freezer to fryer, there are 18 steps they need to follow to keep the same taste [of the chicken product. If you think about it, someone comes and goes. You cannot keep training, you cannot keep sending trainers to train the person. There’s probably a hundred outlets across the Philippines. So they’re using this kind of augmented reality solution, a pair of smart glasses to teach them,” she said. 

But in a country where slow internet connectivity continues to be an issue, would the Philippines be able to maximize the solutions TeamViewer offers? 

ADVERTISEMENT

Steil said it’s generally not a problem. 

“So very often the requirement was it has to work on 2.5G. It’s not a common challenge at the moment but if you still run on a mobile network with 3G, it’s not a problem,” Steil said. 

“TeamViewer’s concept is to reduce the data that is transmitted to the minimum. So we’re trying to be super efficient because that’s always a part of the requirement for us and we kept that logic. So as long as you have some kind of mobile network coverage, you’re good,” he said. 

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

It looks like you’re using an ad blocker

Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.

Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.