Trackside at Barcelona F1 with McLaren, Udemy & 1440 Sports: Partnership for High Performance

As a Dutchman, my Formula 1 loyalty is usually with Max Verstappen and Red Bull. However, trackside at the Spanish Grand Prix qualifying recently I was supporting Lando Norris & McLaren. Udemy have become the Official Learning and Skills Partner of McLaren Racing including the McLaren Formula 1 team, as well as Formula E, IndyCar and Extreme E. In Barcelona the Udemy logo would be in a prominent position on the front of the helmet so a delegation was arranged with customers and I was thrilled to be invited.

Coincidentally, ABB is a headline sponsor for Formula E since January 2018, a significant alliance in promoting sustainable transportation. ABB contributes its expertise in electrification and automation, enhancing the technological backbone of Formula E. By showcasing electric vehicles in major urban centers worldwide, the partnership emphasizes sustainable urban development and transportation. Overall, this collaboration extends beyond sponsorship, aiming to advance global sustainability and innovation in mobility.

The day started with breakfast on the rooftop terrace of the Serras hotel overlooking the Barcelona harbour. We could see the helicopters taking off from the yachts to get drivers and teams to the track. 1440 Sports manage the Udemy / F1 partnership and were on hand to give us a fascinating overview ahead of the day’s action. The Spanish race is an important one for teams because it kicks off the European calendar and many teams have made technical upgrades to cars anticipating better performance.

We also learnt about McLaren’s high performance culture, how much they value continuous learning and the partnership with Udemy. They chose Udemy as a platform because it provides high quality democratized content covering in-demand topics, through an intuitive and on-demand format. The McLaren leadership online course is due out soon and will feature deeper insights about motorsport and sustainability. Also don’t miss McLaren Racing 101, an online course where you can learn more about the history of McLaren from experts on and off track. Indra and GenPact are other companies who have chosen Udemy Business, particularly for high quality learning content on Generative AI as a disruptive force in both their industries.

The motorsport industry is uniquely unforgiving and high stakes. A hundredth of a second in a race finish or a driver reaction determines the real impact of all the leadership, training, culture and preparation. And for McLaren’s 400m fans worldwide this all comes together in only one place: on the track at race weekend. The Catalunya circuit in Barcelona is difficult to set up cars for aerodynamics due to changing wind conditions and with 16 turns, corner strategy becomes critical. Ricky Paugh from 1440 Sports showed me exactly how Max uses corners to his advantage, not just the line he takes but also how he optimises the weight distribution in his car. We also saw how other teams had 3D printed airflow channeling to help cool their overheating brakes.

During qualifying, the McLaren vehicle has over 250 sensors constantly sending Terrabytes of telemetry back to their Woking headquarters where the data is analysed for fine tuning by drivers and pit crews. Together with a portable data centre, or “third car” which travels with the team, they create a cloud-based digital twin of the actual vehicle for real time and post race analysis. As engineering students we practically worshipped Formula 1 for its peak performance in our field and I continue to be fascinated by the science of racing. Experiencing it trackside, learning from experts in the industry behind the scenes and seeing firsthand just how much it has advanced since university was thrilling.

Ultimately it did come down to a hundredth of a second; Norris qualified in pole position just ahead of Verstappen but the world champion went on to win the Sunday race after establishing a lead straight off the grid. Despite losing his pole position advantage early on, Norris kept up the pressure right to the last lap. This determination, pursuit of performance and goals at pace is exactly what Udemy is all about. Merging world class racing and globally relevant learning is a thrilling showcase and shows why this really matters in high performance. In their dominance of the racing industry, McLaren have consistently used it to their advantage and this time in Barcelona, Udemy joined them on the podium for a hard won 2nd place.