Ferrari is using IBM’s AI to create F1 superfans
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What motivated IBM to partner with Ferrari for a fan‑experience project?
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Two years ago, IBM realized there was one glaring omission in its roster of sports partnerships, Formula One. Formula One has become one of the world's most popular sports, especially here in the U.S., where Netflix's Drive to Survive documented the working lives of F1 drivers and turned them into mainstream celebrities.
How is the new Ferrari fan app using AI to turn race data into engaging stories?
The tech-centric sport has also become a hot ticket for tech companies like AWS, Oracle, and Anthropic, which partner with teams for sponsorship visibility. And to provide data analytics and AI tools that can deliver a competitive edge. So when IBM went looking for its next major sports partnership, it's no wonder the company picked F1 and one of its most iconic teams, Scuderia Ferrari HP. Cameron Stanhouse, IBM's vice president of sports and entertainment partnerships, told TechCrunch they are the winningest team in history. At the heart of this partnership, though, is what has led other teams to start working with tech giants, access to more sophisticated tech solutions that can help them make the most of artificial intelligence.
In fact, one of the best parts of sports, Stanhouse says, is how much data is available and can be used to help people get comfortable with AI. She said of how AI is used in sports, they're actually seeing how it serves them. The IBM Ferrari Partnership centers on that idea of storytelling, enhancing fan engagement by overhauling the technology, powering the Ferrari fan app.
What features does the revamped app offer to keep fans connected year‑round?
To help with this, Ferrari hired Stefano Pollard in the newly titled role head of fan development, who said the challenge the team wanted to tackle was not just reaching fans, but making each of them feel like we know them. Now that starts with taking the data we got from the track, he says, and turning it into content that is easy to follow and engaging. Teams process millions of data points per second during each race, capturing every movement of the driver and the car. Turning this into content that fans can engage with is just one way that advanced enterprise AI can help businesses better interact with their consumers. Among the eleven teams, Ferrari is one of the few, alongside the likes of McLaren and Williams, to have a standalone fan app strategy rather than lean on social media or the official F1 platforms instead, showing how the sport is slowly starting to capitalize on its growing global fandom.
Some of the changes to the Ferrari app were simple, like offering it in Italian. Even though Ferrari is an Italian company, and many of its fans are Italian, their fan app was not available in Italian until the IBM partnership. Stenhouse said the old Ferrari fan app was a place where people went to find race details, and then they left. This new app has games where fans can play with others in the app, new AI written race summaries, more behind the scenes stories about the team and the drivers, a place to make predictions and an AI companion.
How does IBM analyze fan‑engagement signals to personalize content?
for fans to ask questions. Stanhouse said, adding that storytelling helps fans feel closer to the team. There are two drivers. But did you know it takes twenty four people working simultaneously in two seconds to change a tire? Unlike other sports apps IBM has built, Stanhouse said the Ferrari app's main focus is storytelling because it wants fans to stay engaged with it all year long, rather than for a few weeks a year, as with tournaments like the Masters. Engagement data for the app has been trending upward since IBM came into the scene, with Stanhouse citing a 62% increase in engagement over.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What motivated IBM to partner with Ferrari for a fan‑experience project?
0:02–1:05
2
How is the new Ferrari fan app using AI to turn race data into engaging stories?
1:05–2:19
3
What features does the revamped app offer to keep fans connected year‑round?
2:19–3:58
4
How does IBM analyze fan‑engagement signals to personalize content?
3:58–4:59
5
What is the five‑year vision for AI‑driven fan experiences and new demographics?
4:59–5:58
Speakers
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