F1 Teams Deploy APIs for Edge on Track, in Stands

Scuderia Alphatauri

When members of a Formula One (F1) racing team are working at the track, they’re not just carrying tools and containers of fuel — they’re also holding tablets that help them use data delivered through application programming interfaces (APIs).

“It’s fascinating how technology plays a role now in every single industry, and the world of Formula One is no different,” Iddo Gino, founder and CEO of RapidAPI, told PYMNTS.

RapidAPI, which offers a hub that facilitates finding, connecting to and managing APIs, has partnered with the Italian constructor Scuderia AlphaTauri and will centralize and standardize the team’s internal APIs and data using RapidAPI’s Enterprise Hub.

Enhancing Driver, Car Performance

F1’s regulatory group, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), provides standard libraries of code to each team and gives them the same amount of time to develop and customize their vehicles.

“Racing organizations leverage this data, along with the real-time data being provided by the cars, and combine all that information into apps to enhance performance of the drivers and the race cars,” Gino said.

When at the track, F1 teams track data from the car showing everything from tire temperature to engine speed. This communication is powered by APIs within the cars’ systems, and each car produces gigabytes, if not terabytes, of data during every minute of the race.

“A lot of data is collected from each car and then brought back in real time to make decisions on the fly, at the track,” Gino said. “For instance, this can help the team determine when to do a tire change, what treads they want to go on, how to fine-tune the instruments, etc.”

Boosting Fan Engagement

Teams also use the data between races to analyze each race, the performance of the vehicle and the performance of the driver — and thereby prepare for the next race.

Beyond analyzing the data to fine-tune their cars, F1 teams also use it to boost their engagement with fans. They do this by delivering to fans real-time statistics, updates and the status of a race.

“They’re creating a lot of bespoke digital experiences around that,” Gino said. “Through the power of APIs, they can quickly and easily apply that same code and bring it into mobile apps, websites and social experiences.”

Driving the Digital Transformation

At Scuderia AlphaTauri, developers build and customize hundreds of APIs. It currently has a few dozen APIs running on the RapidAPI platform and plans to make that a hub for all its API assets.

This is just one example of the ways companies use APIs and RapidAPI platforms, Gino said. Businesses use the company’s public hub to find and integrate third-party APIs and manage use of their own internal ones. Beyond that, they use RapidAPI Enterprise Hub, which is private and customizable, to find, manage and connect to internal APIs and external API subscriptions.

“The need for APIs is prevalent across every industry and marketplace in the world,” Gino said. “Driving forces in digital transformation require so many organizations to rely heavily on data and developer resources to create, monitor and update multiple apps and software.”