AMD Confirms Move From Ferrari, Backs Mercedes-AMG Formula One Team

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By Niels Broekhuijsen
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A high-performance chip maker partnering with a high-performance car maker.

(Image credit: Mercedes-AMG)

AMD has picked its horse for the upcoming 2020 Formula One Season. It announced Tuesday that it's sponsoring the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. Through this partnership it will offer the team, which represents Mercedes' high-end performance AMG line, with AMD hardware. AMD confirmed to Tom's Hardware that it's no longer sponsoring Ferrari, and Ferrari no longer lists AMD on its website. 

The partnership between AMD and Mercedes-AMG is for multiple years, and the first sign of the sponsorship will be visible on February 14 , when the 2020 Formula One season kicks off. On that day, Mercedes-AMG will run its 2020 F1 car for the first time. The car will boast AMD branding on the side, and Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Botta will drive it. 

"Innovation is at the heart of Formula One. We always try and push the technological boundaries in our hunt for performance," said Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, in a statement. "We are delighted to have AMD join our team as a partner and we look forward to the journey ahead of us as we explore sophisticated solutions to unlock untapped performance potential." 

In addition to having its racecar rock AMD logos, the partnership means AMD's namesake will also be on driver's and team member's clothing, the tracks' infrastructure and on the engineering station. Meanwhile, Mercedes-AMG's team will use laptops equipped with AMD Ryzen Pro CPUs and servers with AMD Epyc chips. 

“At AMD, we are at our best when we create disruptive technologies that push the envelope of what is possible in high-performance computing,” said John Taylor, chief marketing officer at AMD. “We are thrilled to join forces with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, a team operating at the cutting edge of technology and with whom we are a shared spirit in delivering incredible innovation and performance from the factory to the racetrack.”

Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • passivecool
    Formula One? Really? F1 is yesterday's innovation. If anything, they should support Formula E.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    A high-performance chip maker partnering with a high-performance car maker.
    Er... you mean a different high-performance car maker. A more winning one.

    The car will boast AMD branding on the side, and Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Botta will drive it
    There are two cars, and they're simultaneously driven by Hamilton and Bottas, who race each other only slightly less than they race against everyone else.

    I think Hamilton and Bottas better match Lisa Su's temperament, while Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel reminds me a little more of Nvidia's Jensen Huang.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    passivecool said:
    Formula One? Really? F1 is yesterday's innovation. If anything, they should support Formula E.
    Eh, I mean yes... but also, no.

    Have you actually watched a Formula-E race? I've watched a few, and they're a little more like chess matches than the kind of wheel-to-wheel racing that makes F1 so exciting. Perhaps that could change, but the continual focus on energy-conservation keeps speeds down and bunches up all of the cars in a big train, kind of like NASCAR restrictor-plate races (which I also don't watch).

    I can think of a couple more interesting developments, in racing:
    Drone racing
    Autonomous car racingOf course, they both still have a long way to go, before they could potentially attract crowds and viewership like F1. In fact, I don't know if they ever will.


    BTW, did you know that F1 cars have hybrid engines that use two different energy recovery systems? Even though they're petrol-based, it's not like they're not still pushing the technical envelope.

    Also, F1 recently announced plans to go carbon-neutral. Most of the emissions caused by the sport aren't from the race cars, but from moving all of the equipment and people from one track to another, every couple weeks. It's like the world's biggest, internationally travelling circus.
    Reply