Information technology has become as critical as horsepower. Drivers delivering championship-level performance at every turn have made McLaren Racing Ltd. one of the most iconic competitors on the asphalt. But behind the scenes, IT management tools play an essential part in determining which teams reach the podium.

McLaren Racing is recognized for its innovative carbon-fibre construction and advanced aerodynamics. Equally important is its partnership with Freshworks Inc., which enables 1,400 employees to resolve issues quickly, according to Dan Keyworth (pictured), director of business technology at McLaren Racing.

“Formula One is the most technologically advanced sport on the planet. We’re dealing with a huge amount of information all the time,” Keyworth told theCUBE. “There is a level of gut and intuition that goes into this sport, but data is absolutely everything.”

Keyworth spoke with theCUBE’s Bob Laliberte at the Refresh North America 2025 event, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the role data plays in Formula One performance and how McLaren relies on IT management tools from Freshworks to find new ways of shaving precious milliseconds off the clock. (* Disclosure below.) 

How efficient IT management tools help McLaren swim — not drown — in data

In modern auto racing the cars represent way more than just what’s under the hood — they transfer vast streams of telemetry from onboard sensors to engineers, turning every lap into data they can act on. Smart tools for managing this flood of information enable McLaren to get out in front of any problems, Keyworth noted.

“We want people to be not drowning in data, but kind of swimming quite comfortably in it,” he noted. “All the technology that we give to our 1,400 people across the team is in order to go, ‘How do we find those extra milliseconds? How do we move the dial in terms of performance all the time?’”

Given the volume of telemetry data, McLaren required IT management tools that are unobtrusive and efficient. This need led to the partnership with Freshworks, as their platform is quick to deploy and simple to use, allowing engineers to focus on race decisions rather than software issues, according to Keyworth. 

“We’re trying to move at such a pace that we need services to feel almost frictionless for people across the organization,” Keyworth said. “The strap line this week is ‘uncomplicate,’ and [Freshservice] really has done that for us, including how quickly we were able to get up and running even before we officially became partners.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Refresh North America 2025 event:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Refresh North America 2025 event. Neither Freshworks, the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE