Formula-1 Teams By Processor [UPDATED]

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f1Following our previous coverage [here, here, here] of high performance computing deployments throughout the Formula-1 racing scene, I stumbled upon an article comparing the distribution of AMD to Intel processors and correlating the distribution to the current points standings. Granted, this comparison has no real academic merit. It’s simply an interesting look at the distribution of the fiercely competitive microprocessor industry against a fiercely competitive and highly scientific/analytical sport such as F1.

As of the beginning of the 2008 racing season, the HPC scene in Formula-1 stacks up as follows:

.: ING Renault Formula 1: Appro Xtreme-X2, 1024 sockets, 4096 cores, AMD Barcelona

.: Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: Acer/IBM/Racksaver, 1000+ sockets, upgrading to quad-core

.: BMW Sauber F1: Dell, Albert2, 512 sockets, 2048 cores, Intel Xeon [most likely Clovertown]. Correction from Franklin Dallman, president of DALCO: Albert2 is a DALCO-integrated system, not Dell. Quadrics interconnect, quad core Harpertown.

.: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: SGI Altix, 512 sockets, 1024 cores, Intel Itanium2

.: Red Bull Renault: IBM, 512 sockets, 1024 cores [upgrading to quad-core AMDs]

.: Panasonic Toyota F1: Fujitsu, 320 sockets, 640 cores, Intel Itanium2. Amplification from Franklin Dallman, president of DALCO: This cluster has been superseded by a new Cluster commissioned by DALCO with over 1250 AMD cores (>625 sockets).

.: AT&T Williams/Toyota F1: Lenovo unnamed, 332 sockets, 664 cores, Intel Xeon 5100

.: Honda F1 Racing: SGI Altix ICE, unknown sockets/cores, Intel Xeon Clovertown

.: Scuderia Torro Rosso Ferrari: N/A [utilizes Red Bull infrastructure]

.: Super Aguri Honda: N/A [utilizes Honda F1 infrastructure]

.: Force India Ferrari: Rental System, unknown specs [possibly Tata Sons?]

Overall, the processor distribution is as follows stands at AMD commanding 2560 sockets [9216 cores] and Intel pulling up second with 1826 sockets [4931 cores]. This is terribly interesting considering the current points standing in Formula-1. AMD commands almost 2X the number of cores as Intel, yet the manufacturers running Intel procs command the points lead. Following the Bahrain GP, Intel-based F1 teams have a combined points total of 76 [30+28+10+8] while the AMD backed teams have a combined total of 41 [6+29+4+2] points.

Again, this really means nothing at all. Its simply fun to fuel the fires of competition…. especially when the competition is waving a red flag donned with a prancing horse.

Read the full article here.