Red Bull has been a step ahead of every single team in F1 this season. The team, with the efforts of the likes of Max Verstappen, Adrian Newey, Christian Horner, Sergio Perez, and everyone else, has won all twelve of the races so far. However, Red Bull’s chief designer, Craig Skinner, told the Talking Bull podcast that they are hoping to rely on AI to continue their winning ways for years to come.
In the olden days, F1 was much simpler. It was all about making a fast, solid car that could go around a circuit and be the first to complete however many laps required. Today the sport has evolved drastically, with teams relying more and more on computers and AI. As such, with AI being the next big thing in the field of technology, it wouldn’t be a surprise if it were soon the new norm in F1.
Oracle, which is the third-largest software company in the world by revenue is the current partner of Red Bull. The tech company sells a host of cloud engineering systems, database and software technologies, and enterprise software products. Given their stronghold in the tech field, Red Bull would want to use their partnership with Oracle to further boost team development using AI in the future.
Red Bull Racing has started exploring uses if AI can help Max Verstappen
While answering a fan’s question, Red Bull’s chief designer Craig Skinner told the host that the team had already started exploring the uses of AI in the development of their cars. Skinner believes the technology has its uses and can help in designing a car with superior aerodynamics and overall design.
The field of AI is being investigated by Red Bull for a deeper understanding of how it can help them achieve more. However, it still needs to be told what to do, and that means the engineers need to have a clear understanding of what they want the tech to do.
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Furthermore, there are things that only a human can understand and are not really possible for AI to tackle on its own, if at all.
AI is not the solution to everything
AI is a great piece of technology, but it cannot solve all problems. The tech needs instructions and is incapable of finding problems out on its own, says Skinner.
“Ultimately, the input has to come from the staff. What makes a car fast and what do you want to achieve with aerodynamics? So yes, we do use it and we’re looking into it. But ultimately it comes down to how much you understand the problem in the first place.”
With little to no help from AI so far, Verstappen and Co. have been on a marauding run, winning all the races this season. There is a strong belief that the team might be able to become the first team to ever win all the races in one season. That being the case, without AI, should the team incorporate the tech in their arsenal, they would only improve their performances.
