F1 team gets up to speed with supercomputing

The BMW-Sauber Formula One team is making good use of its very own supercomputer, Albert 2, as it moves up the Formula One pecking order.

The team has been using Albert 2, developed in association with Intel, since the end of last year to develop the aerodynamics for its 2007 car using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a complex simulation process which requires considerable computing power.

And the hard work is paying off on the track with the team currently at third in the 2007 World Championship after a fifth-place finish last term.

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Speaking to silicon.com at a recent test event at Silverstone, team manager Beat Zehnder said: "It's working perfectly. A supercomputer can help us a great deal."

Zehnder gave the example of a new rear wing recently developed by the team. Five versions were tested using CFD with two built and tested in the wind tunnel.

Previously all five versions would have been built and tested, taking up a considerable amount of time that could have been used for other work.

Zehnder said: "If you want to be competitive in Formula One you have to have a wind tunnel. Now we have a wind tunnel - that is fabulous - and a supercomputer."

When asked about the role of IT in F1, Zehnder said: "IT is playing a very crucial part these days. A server crash would be disastrous, especially during a race weekend."

Following on from the team's success this year it aims to win races in 2008, and Albert 2 will continue to play a leading role.