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Red Bull's sponsorship deal with Oracle is reportedly worth $500 million, making the technology company its main title sponsor ahead of the 2022 season. The team unveiled the highly-anticipated RB18 whilst revealing their ties with the company.
A report from The Associated Press claims the partnership is for a period of five years, with the American multinational company set to provide $100 million to the team each year. The deal is one of the largest commercial partnerships of its kind in all of the sport.
The team plans on using Oracle's highly sophisticated computing solutions to help further improve its race strategy, engine development, and other projects. The Austrian team used Oracle's solutions in 2021 as well, which allegedly enabled them to run more than 1000 simulations to help improve their strategy. This was critical in securing Max Verstappen's 2021 drivers' title, along with the team's P2 in the constructors' standings.
Speaking about the new title sponsorship, team principal Christian Horner said:
“Oracle Cloud enabled us to make race-day decisions that helped Max Verstappen win the 2021 Drivers’ Championship. Discovering and reacting to opportunities quickly is crucial to our success on and off the track, and Oracle are integral in that effort. Every element of our performance is driven by data analysis. Having Oracle as our title partner shows the confidence we have in their expertise and their ability to deliver a true competitive advantage.”
Given the amount of money involved, it is no surprise that the team is now officially named Oracle Red Bull Racing.
Oracle exec claims Red Bull more committed than any other team in using technology to help their strategy
It is no secret that modern F1 relies heavily on the use of computing. Engineers work day and night to crunch data to come up with realistic race strategies for drivers. Having a technological partner such as Oracle will be a huge boost to Red Bull, who, as per Oracle's executive vice-president Ariel Kelman, are the only team that actively uses technology to gain an edge over their opponents. He said:
“Red Bull Racing has been more committed than any other F1 team in its use of technology to gain an edge, and it is paying off. Our commitment to this partnership reflects our belief that OCI is a strategic weapon on race day, helps create the most exciting fan experience in sports and can define the future of F1. Oracle Red Bull Racing is, and will continue to be, the most forward-thinking and innovative F1 team in the world.”
The team has not revealed exactly how it used Oracle's technology to gain the upper hand over Mercedes in 2021. Fans and critics alike, however, are excited to see cloud-based computing taking over the future of the sport in coming years.
