Oracle Powers Red Bull’s Record Simulations for Vegas GP

Red Bull’s collaboration with Oracle delivered unprecedented simulation power, preparing 8 billion laps ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen will have a shot at the world title in Las Vegas this week, and Red Bull aims to seal the deal as quickly as possible.

The team has worked tirelessly on preparation, as explained by Jack Harington, head of Red Bull’s partnerships group, who collaborates with software giant and main sponsor Oracle.

“We run four billion simulations before arriving at the circuit,” said Harington. “Then we take the data from FP1 and FP2, feed it into the simulations, and rerun those four billion simulations.”

“There’s always talk about reaching out to check if it’s raining in the pit lane, but there are still variables that catch you by surprise. The more simulations we do, the more we see, and the better our chances of reacting effectively.”

Harington explained that Red Bull relies on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) to manage costs: “We can power up the cloud before a race weekend, run these massive volumes of simulations, shut it down, and power it back up when needed.”

“Previously, we had to invest in physical hardware to run these simulations, so it’s far more cost-effective for us as well. Every strategic call that’s won us a race since 2021 has been made using OCI.”

Stephen Knowles, Red Bull’s principal race strategy engineer, detailed how his department utilizes these tools: “For more detailed race strategy planning, we start about two weeks in advance.”

“Preliminary simulations cover a wide range of possible outcomes regarding tire and car performance, as well as a broad spectrum of potential incidents and their timing.”

“This allows us to plan our weekend, particularly tire usage, with the aim of maximizing points while leaving enough flexibility to handle the unexpected.”