“There are opportunities…to almost skip a generation”: Williams F1 on how security technology can help it transform its fortunes – in Formula 1 and beyond
For businesses around the world, security is of paramount importance and passwords play an important role in that.
But when it comes to password security at the highest level, the Formula 1 world wants to be at the forefront of development. As in so many areas, many teams are working with official partners in the cybersecurity space.
Williams F1 and Keeper Security announced their partnership at the Miami Grand Prix earlier in 2024 and have been working closely together since then to integrate the latter’s password management technology into the racing team’s systems – Ny Breaking spoke to the team ahead of the 2024 British Grand Prix to find out more.
Discipline
“Cybersecurity is a critical part of Formula 1,” comments James Bower, Commercial Director at Williams F1. “Because we are competing in the most technologically advanced sport in the world, data is absolutely critical to us. It drives all of our development and all of our innovation.”
While Williams F1, with a workforce of around 1,000 employees, is one of Keeper’s typical SMB customers, Bower notes that the company’s high profile leaves it vulnerable to what he calls “a disproportionately high level of threats compared to the size of our organisation.”
As with many normal businesses, human error is always a concern when it comes to cybersecurity. But in a sport that travels around the world, often with only a few days between races, Bower notes that the fatigue from traveling across multiple time zones to then perform both mentally and physically demanding tasks like pit stops and car maintenance can be a potential security risk.
“We really have to be disciplined because we are in a cost cap environment. So partnerships are driven by authentic use of technology. We will not use technology that we do not need or that does not deliver performance to the team.”
“When we look at password and security management, a lot of it is about the integration into our systems across the company. From a technical and production perspective, it’s not just about individuals, it’s about the systems that enable them to collaborate.”
“The speed of development in Formula 1 is relentless. If you don’t drive two-tenths of a second faster every weekend, every race, you risk going backwards. And data is at the heart of that.”
Bower is realistic, stating that Williams F1 is unlikely to challenge for the Drivers’ or Teams’ World Championship in 2024. However, he also stresses that this gives the team the opportunity to try a few things a little differently.
“There’s an opportunity within enterprise technology to almost skip a generation,” he says. “The way we build the infrastructure of the team, the systems, the processes…we’re not so attached to the existing infrastructure.”
He adds that the top teams have such a relentless development race that they can’t completely change or remove technological systems. But now that Williams is transforming the team, they can be a bit more flexible and seize the opportunity.