Mercedes-AMG Petronas Sees AI Garage Transformation Ahead Of 2026 Shift
By Siti Radziah Hamzah
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 (Bernama) -- As Formula One (F1) prepares for one of its biggest technical overhauls in 2026, the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to reshape how its garage operates, a shift it believes will define the next era of race-weekend performance.
Head of IT operations and development Steven Riley said the rising complexity of the new car architecture is already forcing teams to rethink how they design, test and develop components.
For the team, the transition has been underway for some time, with digital tools and augmented reality (AR) helping engineers manage the increasingly intricate parts that will form the next generation of cars.
Riley said AI-driven data analysis is likely to deliver one of the biggest operational changes in the garage next year.
“We are going to see big development across all F1 teams over the next few years in how they adopt AI to analyse data, provide insight and potentially even guidance in terms of how we should be setting up the car and how we should be racing the car,” he said during a virtual media roundtable with TeamViewer recently.
For Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, the move toward more digital-heavy operations builds on a transformation already underway.
In 2021, the team entered a five-year partnership with TeamViewer to streamline workflows from the factory to the pit wall.
It was Riley’s department that built and maintained the IT backbone supporting an extraordinary period in the sport with eight consecutive constructors’ championships from 2014 to 2021.
The past few years were tougher. But the ethos remains — keep pushing the limits, keep finding gains, keep building toward winning again.
Riley said Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team used TeamViewer to minimise setup time in testing and development, and to ensure that all rigs were 100 per cent accurate before testing began.
“Instead of referring to built guides and designs elsewhere in the facility, our team can incorporate AR into their workflow and immediately see how the parts form that assembly. Gains in every area of the team’s operations add up to improve performance where it really matters — on the racetrack,” he added.
Riley noted that F1’s shift toward centralised engineering has deepened that reliance on technology.
Only 60 personnel are permitted to work on the car at the track, with another 30 engineers stationed at the race support room in Brackley, mirroring the real-time communication systems used inside the garage. The result is a race team split across continents but connected as one.
Riley noted that the role of technology partners to strengthen Mercedes’ engineering ecosystem points to TeamViewer’s work in AR development and simulator integration. These are practical examples of how collaboration feeds performance.
He said Mercedes works closely with technology partners, including TeamViewer, to develop tailored solutions that support the team’s performance needs.
Despite the 2025 season’s intense final phase, Riley said the team remains fully focused on race execution while accelerating preparations for the 2026 regulation cycle.
As the 2025 season concludes this weekend in Qatar and Abu Dhabi on Dec 5-7, the paddock is already looking to a 2026 campaign that stretches from the Australian Grand Prix on March 6–8 to the Abu Dhabi finale on Dec 4–6, spanning five continents.
-- BERNAMA