George Russell follows Lewis Hamilton as they make their way down the pit lane.
Mercedes is “confident” a global computer systems outage triggered by a team partner won’t affect on-track running at the Hungaroring.
Industries like banking, airline and transport, as well as news and media, are currently facing issues due to a worldwide computer systems outage caused by the collaboration between cyber security firm CrowdStrike and Mercedes on Friday morning.
Mercedes confident CrowdStrike issues won’t affect Hungarian GP
On Friday morning, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz explained that a defect in a “single content update for Windows hosts” has been the cause of the issue.
According to Kurtz, there is no effect on Mac and Linux hosts. He mentioned that the problem has been recognized, separated, and a solution has been implemented.
Kurtz explained that customers can refer to the support portal on CrowdStrike’s website for the most up-to-date information, as they will be providing continuous updates.
The outage’s consequences have caused some disturbance to Mercedes’ preparations in the garage prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix. However, the team based in Brackley remains assured that these issues will not impact any on-track activities.
A representative from the Mercedes team affirmed: “Throughout the morning, we have collaborated with our partners to guarantee that there will be no disruption in track activity.”
“All necessary fixes have been successfully implemented with smooth progress.”
It is currently uncertain how the CrowdStrike outage will impact the team, as the focus is currently on resolving the system issues before the practice day starts at 1:30 pm local time.
More on the latest Mercedes F1 news
Ranked: Every Mercedes car since the Silver Arrows returned to F1
F1 2025 predictions: Mercedes’ left-field option and Williams lose out on Carlos Sainz
It is reported that the outages have not affected Mercedes customer teams such as Williams, Aston Martin, and McLaren. Additionally, Alpine, Ferrari, VCARB, Red Bull, Sauber, and Haas have also been mostly unaffected by the problems.
In today’s world, F1 teams rely heavily on their computer systems, recognizing the vital role real-time data analysis and cyber security play in maintaining a competitive edge, just as important as the physical tools like sockets and spanners.
The smooth execution of a Grand Prix weekend greatly relies on the communication links connecting the F1 teams at the track to their simulation and monitoring suites at their factories. The reliability of these links can be the determining factor between securing a win or settling for second place.
Major system failures in F1 are infrequent, but there was a recent incident during FP1 of the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix where an outage occurred. This outage resulted in the pit wall personnel being unable to track lap times.
Read Next: Max Verstappen’s response as ‘on the limit’ Red Bull roll out crucial upgrades for Hungary
