Microsoft Extends Cloud Presence at Lotus F1, From Factory to Race Seat

Lotus F1 driver Pastor Maldonado at the US GP 2015 | Source 

Step into a Formula 1 team garage on race weekend and the allure of the sport - to team members, drivers, and fans - is easy to appreciate. A platoon of engineers and mechanics dart around and under the cars, disassembling, inspecting, and reassembling futuristic components that could cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars each. They rush back to their tool chests, offer clipped instructions to each other, and quickly return to their work.

On the first practice day of the weekend's F1 US Grand Prix in Austin, something was wrong with the rear end of a Lotus F1 team car, and it was preventing the team from getting it out onto the track. Three mechanics separated the rear of the car from main body in about three minutes and wheeled off the incomprehensibly compact assembly that contains both the car's rear suspension and gear box for repairs. About half an hour later, the car was repaired, reassembled, and driver Pastor Maldonado roared out of the garage and onto the rain-soaked track for a practice run.

A car in work at the Lotus team's garage at the US Grand Prix  

"If you look at how we operate, we are almost ...