In the high-stakes world of Formula 1, technology drives performance – but it also introduces significant risks.
As the sport becomes increasingly digital, cybersecurity has emerged as a critical factor in safeguarding intellectual property, operational integrity, and race-day performance.
Far more than a safety net, cybersecurity partners are now seen as enablers of progress, helping teams maintain focus on what truly matters: innovation and victory.
Bitdefender is Official Cybersecurity Partner to Scuderia Ferrari HP and recently announced an extended and expanded deal with the team.
Sector spoke exclusively to Bogdan Botezatu, Senior Director, Threat Research and Reporting at Bitdefender to understand the growing reliance F1 teams have on cybersecurity firms.
From sporting teams to high-value digital targets
Over the past five years, the cyber threat landscape facing F1 teams has shifted dramatically.
What were once relatively contained technology environments have evolved into sprawling, interconnected operations, made more visible by the sport’s rapid growth in global popularity.
“The volume and complexity of attacks targeting Formula 1 teams – and companies in general – have grown fast in the past five years,” explains Botezatu.
“Crucially, the sport’s explosive surge in global popularity has amplified these risks, turning teams into high-visibility targets for cybercriminals seeking notoriety or financial extortion.”
Teams are no longer viewed simply as sporting organisations, making them attractive targets for attackers looking to extract value far beyond the racetrack.
“F1 teams are high-value industrial targets, not just sports brands,” added Botezatu.
“They sit at the intersection of automotive, aerospace, high-performance computing, and advanced materials. Intellectual property from a team can be repurposed into all sorts of industries, civilian or military.”
At risk is an extensive range of sensitive data, including CAD designs, aerodynamic models, wind tunnel and CFD outputs, live and historical telemetry, power-unit mapping and race strategy software.
Even partial access to this information can offer significant competitive insight or enable reverse engineering of innovations developed at considerable cost.
Cybersecurity as a performance enabler
The role of cybersecurity partners in F1 extends far beyond perimeter defence. Their integration into team operations is designed to ensure that security measures do not slow down performance-critical workflows, particularly during race weekends where timing and reliability are paramount.
A partner such as Bitdefender focuses on continuous threat monitoring, rapid incident response and intelligence tailored specifically to motorsport operations.
This must be robust enough to detect and contain malicious activity in real time, as Botezatu lays out: “The integration has to be tight enough that if a malicious activity happens in qualifying or in the build-up to a race, detection and containment happen before it impacts the team’s operation.”
This approach reflects a broader shift in how teams view cybersecurity, not as a constraint, but as an enabler that allows engineers, strategists and drivers to operate with confidence in increasingly complex digital environments.
AI and scale
Artificial intelligence has become central to managing the scale of data generated by F1 teams.
“AI-driven security tools learn what ‘normal’ looks like for engineering workflows, simulation jobs, file access patterns, and network traffic between the factory, the cloud, and the track,” Botezatu said.
“When something deviates – unusual access to design data at odd hours, a new process injecting into a critical application, lateral movement between segments that should not talk – AI is what flags it quickly enough to matter.”
At the same time, attackers are also beginning to adopt AI, particularly to automate reconnaissance and phishing activity.
While advanced malware creation still relies on traditional techniques, the growing accessibility of AI tools has added another layer of complexity to the threat landscape teams must navigate.
Balancing openness with resilience
F1’s commercial model requires teams to be open and visible. Fan engagement, partner collaboration and media access are core to the sport’s appeal, but each introduces additional digital entry points that must be managed carefully.
Teams increasingly address this challenge through strict segmentation between public-facing platforms and core operational systems.
Websites, apps and social channels can remain open and engaging, while engineering, manufacturing and strategy systems are protected through strong identity controls, least-privilege access and continuous monitoring.
“Public-facing platforms should be treated as untrusted zones,” added Botezatu.
“They can be engaging and transparent about the human side, the brand, and even high-level tech stories, but they are heavily segmented from the systems that hold real IP and operational data.”
Rather than attempting to lock everything down, teams work with cybersecurity partners to secure endpoints, manage access intelligently and detect misuse quickly, reflecting the realities of modern communication and mobile working environments.
We are committed to strengthening digital resilience while enabling teams to stay fully focused on performance, innovation and the passion of racing.
Bogdan Botezatu
In this context, Botezatu believes cybersecurity has become a strategic pillar rather than a technical afterthought.
“Bitdefender sees cybersecurity as a catalyst for progress,” he said.
“By sharing common values such as technical excellence and high performance, and by working closely together, we are committed to strengthening digital resilience while enabling teams to stay fully focused on performance, innovation and the passion of racing.”
As F1 continues to push technological boundaries, cybersecurity partnerships are increasingly central to ensuring that progress can continue at speed, safely and sustainably.
Track the number of cybersecurity partners by visiting The Grid – Sector’s detailed database of every Formula 1 partner.
