More local ties for F1’s McLaren Formula 1 via Alteryx partnership

Data Analytics Helps Rev Up Famed F1 Racing Team

Alteryx Inc.’s data analytics software is key to a whole array of business decisions and has been used from almost everything from helping to fight COVD-19 to analyzing retail supply chains.

Another noteworthy expansion: working with McLaren Formula 1 car racing.

The two companies have entered into a multiyear technology partnership to improve the auto team’s performance. “McLaren relies heavily on data-driven insights to drive advantages across both races and their operations—the race behind the race—which strongly aligns with Alteryx’s mission to optimize business outcomes,” Alteryx Chief Data and Analytics Officer Alan Jacobson told the Business Journal on Aug. 25.

Alteryx is providing McLaren a wide array of support, officials said.

“We currently have users from digital manufacturing and finance areas of the organization with the potential to expand to data science, marketing and additional back-office operations,” according to Jacobson, who said McLaren is equipped with a full array of Alteryx products and licenses.

Prominent Branding

Jacobson said there is the “potential to expand into additional use cases to further speed things up on the track.”

Under the partnership, the Alteryx brand is displayed on the McLaren MCL35M race cars, the race suits of the team’s two drivers, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, the McLaren pit crew firesuits and across the team’s social media and digital platforms.

Norris was No. 4 in the F1 league’s drivers standing as of Sept. 8, while Ricciardo was in ninth place.

Alteryx Chief Executive Mark Anderson told analysts last month that the marketing partnership is a great way to get the Alteryx name out there for a wider audience.

“With the Alteryx brand prominently displayed on McLaren race cars and team attire, we are excited to further our brand awareness by partnering with this amazing organization,” Anderson said.

The deal adds to McLaren’s ties to Orange County.

Jeff Moorad’s MSP Sports Capital last year invested in the team—reportedly valued at around $800 million—and the Newport Beach resident counts a director’s spot in the team.

Racing Fans

Some of the key areas where Alteryx powers analytics for U.K.-based McLaren include:

■ Digital Manufacturing: Alteryx is working alongside the internally developed toolset, Javlin, to help bring together different data sets and automate the analysis and processing of information to help McLaren’s design and engineering teams be more efficient in how the team plans, produces and develops their cars.

■ Race Day Logistics: By leveraging Alteryx geospatial analytics and automating business processes, the team mitigates risks by optimizing processes and timeframes to ensure vehicles and right parts get to the right teams at the right time.

■ Back Office Automation: Using Alteryx analytics automation, the racing team is able to surface actionable insights that maximize the value of the data while reducing operational costs and increasing efficiencies.

■ Fan Engagement: McLaren is supercharging fan engagement through Alteryx’s automated behavioral and sentiment analysis of the virtual race day viewing platform (Slipstream) throughout the 2021 race calendar.

F1 Championships

McLaren Racing was founded by New Zealand racing driver Bruce McLaren in 1963. The team entered its first Formula 1 race in 1966; since then McLaren has won 20 Formula 1 world championships, more than 180 Formula 1 Grand Prix races.

“We’re really excited about the Alteryx results so far. We were super impressed with how quickly they were able to deploy across the organization, and how they got people hands-on with the tool set,” McLaren’s Ed Green, head of commercial technology, told the Business Journal on Aug. 25.

He added: “We’re still on a journey, it’s still early days, and we’re looking forward to seeing how more comes of the partnership, but certainly think they deployed really quickly, got the team skilled-up, and now it’s starting to showcase across the team.”