GROVE, OXFORDSHIRE, UK – February 2, 2007 – Lenovo, a leading computer company that creates the best-engineered PCs in the world, today announced a top sponsorship agreement with the AT&T Williams team competing in the Formula One World Championship. Lenovo’s announcement took place at the launch of the team’s 2007 race car at AT&T Williams headquarters near Oxford, UK.
Lenovo PC technology will be used throughout the AT&T Williams team, on functions ranging from ignition checks to race operations and inventory and the Lenovo logo will be displayed in the dominant branding position on the 2007 cars of drivers Nico Rosberg and Alex Wurz.
“Lenovo is an international technology company obsessed with innovation, and they will undoubtedly help us achieve success in every area of our business,” said Frank Williams, Team Principal of AT&T Williams. “In Formula One, teams are highly reliant on PC technology. With Lenovo’s record of innovation, reliability and performance in ThinkPad notebooks and Lenovo desktops, we are confident that our team is lined up with the very best,” said Alex Burns, Williams Chief Operating Officer.
Formula One is a data-intensive, computing-intensive endeavour, highly focused and invested in innovation and development, and highly dependent on information technology. Effective deployment of information technology is a key part of the Williams F1 strategic allocation process, and these decisions help determine the team’s success at the track. AT&T Williams needs high-performance, reliable, robust PC support from Lenovo.
“Lenovo creates the best-engineered PCs in the world, and we look forward to collaborating with the AT&T Williams engineering team in the highly competitive environment of Formula One,” said Deepak Advani, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Lenovo. “Formula One provides an exciting platform to build Lenovo awareness in key markets worldwide, and to showcase our products and their reliability. This is a sport where cutting-edge technology is essential. We are honored to join AT&T Williams and are motivated to work with the team, its partners and the sport in building the Lenovo business and Formula One.”
The AT&T Williams team will use Lenovo PC technology in every functional area of its business, and a Lenovo notebook PC will form an integral part of starting the F1 car before each race, practice and test session. Lenovo PCs will support engineers in car research, test, development and manufacturing. They will support the drivers in their analysis and will support the management team in marketing, logistics, travel and race planning as well as networking, inventory, relationships with clients, sponsors and suppliers, human resources, finance and strategy.
About Lenovo Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building the world’s best-engineered personal computers. Lenovo’s business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, see www.lenovo.com .
About AT&T Williams AT&T Williams is one of the world’s leading Formula One teams, with 16 FIA Formula One World Championship titles and 113 Grand Prix victories to its credit. Today, Williams F1 employs around 520 personnel at a 40 hectare technology campus based in the heart of the UK’s Motorsport Valley in rural Oxfordshire. The company is unique as an entrant in the FIA Formula One World Championship as it is the only organisation that exists solely to race.
The company’s core competencies are the design and manufacture of Formula One race cars, and the deployment of this expertise in running the team’s entries into the Grands Prix each season. The company was formed in 1978 and is privately owned by Sir Frank Williams and his long-term business partner, Patrick Head.
Contact Information For Lenovo F1-related enquiriesJane Chapman+44 1327 856010 jchapman@justmarketing.com
For Lenovo Worldwide Bob Page +1 919 257-6327 rpage@us.lenovo.com
For Lenovo UK Juliet Stanford-Smith +44 1256 343555 jstanfordsmith@uk.lenovo.com
Lenovo/AT&T Williams Technology Backgrounder 2 February 2007
AT&T Williams to Rely on Lenovo Technology The AT&T Williams team will use Lenovo PC technology in every functional area of its business, from ignition to inventory. A Lenovo notebook PC will form an integral part of starting the F1 car before each race, practice and test session. Lenovo PCs will support engineers in car research, test, development, manufacturing; will support the drivers in race operations and analysis; and will support the management team in marketing; logistical travel and race planning; networking; inventory; relationships with clients, sponsors and suppliers; human resources; finance; and strategy.
Demanding Requirements in Information Technology The Williams team typically has five or six F1 cars in production each season. These cars are in varying stages of service, update and amendment at all times. Lenovo computers will typically be processing over 7 terabytes of data each season, or slightly more than 1 terabyte per car.
A typical race version of a Williams car has about 120 sensors monitoring vehicle performance variables and driver behavior variables. This telemetry data — about 1 gigabyte of data per hour — is transmitted using AT&T technology to the engineering team at the track, and is downloaded to Lenovo computers at the conclusion of the race. The information is also networked to the engineering team at the Williams headquarters and factory in Grove, England.
PC Operational Requirements Williams employs about 500 people, 80 percent of whom are involved in design, manufacturing and race operations. F1 is a data-intensive, computing-intensive endeavour, highly focused and invested in innovation and development, and highly dependent on information technology. Williams needs high-performance, reliable, robust PC support from Lenovo for about 400 workstations — approximately 130 notebook PCs and about 270 desktops.
Lenovo Support for the AT&T Williams IT Strategy Williams is unique in F1 motorsport because it designs and manufactures its own cars, solely for the purpose of racing. Williams is also a business, and the decisions it faces in strategic resource allocation are exactly what every business faces: where do we invest information technology resources for the highest return in support of our core mission? Lenovo PC technology supports this focus by creating PC solutions that manage themselves. These solutions perform at high levels under demanding, high-temperature, competitive, highly visible, data-intensive conditions. The AT&T Williams team needs to focus on racing, not on IT. Lenovo PC technology reduces the PC technology overhead for Williams F1.
AT&T Williams Starts with a Lenovo Notebook PC Sensors on each Williams F1 car track engine and gearbox parameters such as pressure and temperature of oil, water and air. Before the car is started, the engine is turned over with no electrical spark. Data from the engine and car is downloaded to the Lenovo notebook PC. If the engineer determines that all parameters are within limits, then a spark is applied and the engine started. The notebook PC prevents damage to the car during the start-up process. If the engine is started without appropriate oil pressure, for example, the engine is ruined; the bearings will not survive.
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