McLaren's rivals look to follow F1's early adopters in on-car digital adverts

McLaren will continue to run new digital advertising technology on their cars during race weekends in 2023 after the unique panels made their race debut in Bahrain.

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Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ran with dynamic digital advertising panels on their cars throughout the opening race weekend. Created by Seamless Digital, the flat, lightweight panels installed on the side of the MCL60’s cockpit underneath the halo dynamically cycle through logos and advertising messages.

After first testing the emerging technology during practice for the 2022 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, McLaren installed the panels for all three practice sessions, qualifying and the race over the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.

The panels use technology similar to those used in e-reader devices like Kindles, allowing multiple logos and graphics to be shown on the display and even be programmed to change in specific areas or situations using the car’s existing controller area network (CAN) bus system. The two-panel set-up weighs just 190 grams and McLaren claims they have a negligible aerodynamic impact when installed.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Bahrain International Circuit, 2023 pre-season test — Both McLarens carried the new panels

The CEO of inventors Seamless Digital, Mark Turner, said the technology has received multiple revisions during development until it was ready to be including on active race cars.

“We want to make sure that our product is enhancing a race team,” Turner said. “We have tirelessly iterated the system to reduce the total mass to F1 levels of performance.

“We want to be a net positive to McLaren, the sport and F1 followers. As a tool for teams and sponsors, we can’t wait to see the marketing creativity it fuels but we will also ensure that it remains a discerning product with high performance engineering at the heart.”

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McLaren design engineer Spencer Busby said the team tested the technology extensively until it was fully satisfied it could be installed without any compromise to weight, aerodynamics or performance.

“Testing of the panels started towards the end of the 2021 season and continued through the beginning of 2022,” Busby explained.

“The technology ran as an isolated, self-powered installation, mounted on a piece of bodywork, and covered in vinyl so as not to gain attention on-track. The testing allowed us to ensure that the weight of the system was reduced to an absolute minimum, the panels aligned accurately and had no adverse effects on aerodynamics. It was important from the outset the panels didn’t affect other key operational activities of the team.”

The team also had to ensure the changing images on the display did not catch the attention of their drivers.

Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Yas Marina, 2022 post-season test — Alpine also tested the panels last year

“When selecting a location on the car, we wanted to ensure the panels were prominent for TV coverage, while ensuring there was no potential for driver distraction as the panel cycles through partner branding,” Busby continued. “Multiple locations were considered, but ultimately, we settled on the cockpit sides as this area of the car isn’t impacted by panels being taken on and off repeatedly over race weekends.”

While McLaren are the only team to have committed to running digital sponsor panels on their cars, they are not the only team to have experimented with them. Alpine chief technical officer, Pat Fry, said his team had also looked into the technology.

“I think it is of obvious interest,” said Fry. “We actually ran it at the end of last year, in testing, just to thought-prove the concepts.

“The weight of that design was relatively minimal. I can’t remember the numbers off the top of my head, but you’re talking 100 or 200 grams or something, rather than kilos. So it is within the realms of ‘if you’re on the weight limit, it’s not a penalty’ as such.”

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2023 F1 season

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21 comments on “McLaren’s rivals look to follow F1’s early adopters in on-car digital adverts”

Nick (@filge90)
14th March 2023, 14:11

So the future cars will be all raw carbon with digital sponsors messages flashing all over them. Can’t say that I’m overly excited about it…

Darryn Smith (@darryn)
14th March 2023, 17:39
No. They will want people attending to see sponsors too. So no. The NHL now has all digital ads, but if you you attend the game you will still see the ads painted on the boards. When I watch a home game for Edmonton instead of seeing some local companies ads like Pizza 73 I will see ads from say Pittsburgh if that is where the person lives that is illegally streaming the stream I’m watching.
drmouse (@drmouse)
15th March 2023, 9:01
How is that any different to the current cars, which are basically giant advertising boards?

MichaelN
14th March 2023, 15:23

So McLaren “tested the technology extensively until it was fully satisfied it could be installed without any compromise to weight, aerodynamics or performance”. I guess the joke writes itself.

On a more serious note though, it is pretty impressive to make this so light and I’m curious to see if they can use this technology to improve upon the system used in sportscars, the one with the three lights showing who is first, second and third in class. This might be able to lead to something that’s legible trackside showing the position of all cars.

Jere (@jerejj)
14th March 2023, 16:10

I never noticed during the weekend, not even in the floodlit sessions.

Asanator (@asanator)
15th March 2023, 10:21
Agreed, It was discussed on the Friday on Sky, but I never saw it change the advert (Which is surely the point).

sam
14th March 2023, 17:08

Mclaren should probably spend their time on things that help them go faster.

Darryn Smith (@darryn)
14th March 2023, 17:41
The money it brings in would if they could spend it as freely as Red Bull does.
1. SteveP
  14th March 2023, 21:03
  The money it brings in would if they could spend it as freely as Red Bull does.
  So McLaren could have an enourmous “catering” budget too?
Yaru (@yaru)
15th March 2023, 13:45
It helps with advertising and it probably doesn’t cost much.

Dick Dawson
14th March 2023, 17:31

Of all the thing McLaren need to fix the car, gimmicks aren’t top priority I hope.

Gerrit
14th March 2023, 18:43

The Triple Eight Supercar team has been running in car adverts on a screen for many years. F1 slow to catch on.

JC
14th March 2023, 21:55
On a lightweight e-ink display formed into the bodywork?
No?
1. Gerrit
  14th March 2023, 23:46
  Yes. Displayed where normally the heater control would be on the dash. Angles slightly to be out of the drivers vision and in direct line of the inboard camera. Follow any in-car video of Van Gisbergen and see the display. Adverts change in about 10 second intervals. Watch https://youtu.be/npcEnsH1V0o

Coventry Climax
14th March 2023, 19:39

It used to be, that if it did not make it faster, you would not find it on an F1 car.
However light they will make this, it has no function on the car in that respect, and the car would be faster without.
This is becoming more and more of a farce, at near F1 speed.

Yaru (@yaru)
15th March 2023, 13:46
By that same logic you might as well remove the advertising and the paint and have all cars look the same. Cos remember ALL cars run faster without paint.

MacLeod (@macleod)
14th March 2023, 22:30

Isn’t the whole installation not to heavy? Would be atleast 1 kg heavy

DavidS (@davids)
14th March 2023, 23:17
A full-sized iPad is only 0.477kg.
This doesn’t have the case, it would have a much smaller battery, appears to be a plastic (not glass) screen, and would have significantly lower performance specs than an iPad. It would only weigh a few hundred grams at most.
Still, it would be heavier than a sticker. It is hypocritical of the teams to be complaining about their cars being overweight, and the minimum weight requirements continuing to balloon, and then doing something like this.
kartguy07 (@kartguy07)
17th March 2023, 2:26
@macleod The article states the two panels weigh only 190g!
1. MacLeod (@macleod)
  17th March 2023, 8:13
  @kartguy07 Thanks i missed that. The panels weigh only 190g but the control electronics (wireless ect.) it says it works like a kindle but that is battery powered so very limited view and to be honest i didn’t notice any adv. on that area during the race which would negates the goal.
  Still it’s 190g more then all the other cars making them slower per lap (0.05 i think) and it seems to influence aero (slightly but still)