Formula One race is as much about technology as it is about speed

THE Formula One (F1) race, to be held in Singapore again this weekend, is celebrated as one of the top yearly sporting events here.

There is a lot of glitz and glamour associated with the event which celebrates fast cars. What is less obvious but perhaps more important to us is that the race is also a platform to test out new cutting-edge technologies, many of which have diverse applications in industry and government. Ubiquitous high-speed connectivity, seamless data transfer and real-time data, analytics which are the hallmarks of successful F1 teams, are the same building blocks that can help build Singapore as the world's first Smart Nation.

Each F1 car carries 100-150 sensors which transmit data about how various components and subsystems in the car are functioning. Capturing this telemetry data is vital to keep a team in the reckoning during a race as this data can be analysed to predict if any of the systems that make up the car are about to malfunction.