Apple looking to takeover McLarenFormula 1 

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If it goes through, that's them screwed at the pit-stops because they'll get rid of the front and rear jack-men. :sly:
 
DK
If it goes through, that's them screwed at the pit-stops because they'll get rid of the front and rear jack-men. :sly:

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Oops, just posted this in Automotive news since I didn't expect it to be here. Mod can delete if necessary.
 
So we'll get the Apple Mc?
 
It is very unlikely that it will effect Team McLaren's operations and it most likely to do with getting them to build drive trains and chassis for their Apple car. Apple really want to put their design and tech on someones else's underpinnings and I suppose McLaren would be a good shout. I guess it's going to be pricey model then rather than paring with Fiat or something :lol:

Oops, just posted this in Automotive news since I didn't expect it to be here. Mod can delete if necessary.

It would probably be better suited in the auto new thread. Or maybe even merged with the Apple Car Thread.
 
Maybe Apple were talking to MacLaren?

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Surely the "iGiveUp" would be a better name?
 
I was really looking forward to the iP1, the i570S, the i650S, and the i675LT. What a shame.
 
Just saw the best comment ever for this on facebook.

If that happens pit stops will be awfully difficult without the jacks...

:lol::lol:
 
It's probably geared more towards Apple using McLaren to build cars for them but it's still of note for the F1 team.
Most of McLaren's recent sponsor deals have been from a B2B perspective, so it makes sense for Apple to get involved with them. McLaren make the ECUs used by all of the teams, but more importantly, I remember Jeremy Clarkson's review of the P1 where he described the way the car uses the ECU to directly apply power to the drivetrain to ensure peak performance. I don't think that it would be too difficult to reprogram an ECU to ensure that power is used most efficiently, and that would definitely be of interest to Apple if they want to enter the automotive industry in some capacity.
 
In the time since these rumours first emerged, two subsequent stories have caught my eye:

First, McLaren's sister company, McLaren Applied Technologies, has won the tender from Williams to supply batteries for Formula E; they won it on the grounds that they could make a battery that could last an entire race, removing the need to swap cars.

Secondly, Microsoft have expanded their motorsport projects to include Toyota in the WRC. I'm not sure what the state of their relationship with Renault is since Renault purchased Lotus, though.

I think both cases show that motorsport is a venture that is increasingly appealing to technology companies.
 
What are Toyota going to do with Microsoft in the WRC?
 
What are Toyota going to do with Microsoft in the WRC?
It's a B2B partnership, similar to the one they had with Lotus. It's the provision and management of data and cloud computing services.
 
Johnny Herbert just said something interesting (I'm as shocked as anyone): that Formula One cars transmit thirty gigabytes of data during a race; to put it in perspective, that's seven hundred and fifty million numbers. The ability to constantly transmit such high volumes of data in real-time would be challenging for teams and of great interest to technology companies like Microsoft and Apple because it tests their infrastructure, and because it's a competitive environment, pushes them to develop their abilities.

What Microsoft is doing with Toyota is even more interesting because they're constantly streaming high volumes of data from a wide geographic area where coverage in individual regions can vary wildly.
 
Microsoft working with Toyota? I'm guessing it will keep crashing and constantly need updates then
 
I think both cases show that motorsport is a venture that is increasingly appealing to technology companies.
Interesting. But is it motorsport itself that's attracting these tech giants? Could it be more about co-opting the engineering talent that's trained, motivated and focused in competitive, top level racing teams?
 
Interesting. But is it motorsport itself that's attracting these tech giants? Could it be more about co-opting the engineering talent that's trained, motivated and focused in competitive, top level racing teams?
Potentially, but there's only so much cross-over between what the teams do and what the tech companies are interested in.
 
Potentially, but there's only so much cross-over between what the teams do and what the tech companies are interested in.
Technically, yes. But it's the people factor, winnowed, disciplined and trained to compete under intense pressure and schedules that are of such great interest.
 
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