Microsoft has snagged a multi-year agreement with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team that will see the team use its cloud and AI technologies.

Under the agreement, Mercedes will deploy Microsoft's cloud and AI solutions across the business, from the factory to the racetrack.

Each of Mercedes' F1 cars has more than 400 sensors, generating around 1.1 million data points per second. The team will use Microsoft Azure to expand its existing high-performance compute capacity without having to wait for new on-prem infrastructure, including for simulation workloads, performance analysis, and race strategy modeling.

In addition, the 2026 season for Formula 1 has various new regulations coming in, including increased requirements for electrification, efficiency, and sustainability, which is adding new technological considerations for the team in its operations.

“Our sport is driven by those who lead through innovation,” said Toto Wolff, CEO and team principal, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. “We are delighted to partner with Microsoft, one of the world’s foremost technology leaders, whose name is synonymous with groundbreaking innovation. This partnership also reflects our commitment to staying at the forefront of performance and progress. By putting Microsoft’s technology at the center of how we operate as a team, we will create faster insights, smarter collaboration, and new ways of working as we look ahead to the next generation in F1.”

Judson Althoff, CEO, Microsoft commercial business, added: “This partnership puts Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI technologies at the heart of racing performance, where milliseconds matter, and data determines outcomes. Together with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, we are harnessing data and turning it into real-time intelligence that powers faster decisions, smarter strategies, and sustained competitive advantage — both on and off the track.”

The F1 team already uses Microsoft 365 and GitHub for many of its engineering and operational workflows.

Several of the major F1 teams have significant partnerships with cloud providers. Oracle Red Bull Racing uses Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and in 2025, Aston Martin Aramco selected CoreWeave to be its AI partner. While they rely on the cloud for many workloads, all the teams also have on-premises data centers to house their "secret" supercomputers, which are used for CFD-based simulations of car designs.

DCD previously spoke to Aston Martin F1 about their use of digital infrastructure, as well as other F1 teams. You can read more about it here.