Toto Wolff & Co. Feel Global Pain as Microsoft Outage Creates Massive Problem for Mercedes at the Hungarian GP

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ByAdrija Mahato

Jul 19, 2024 | 11:12 AM EDT

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Can Mercedes blame Microsoft for their Hungarian GP woes, or is it just an excuse?

Ahead of FP1, the Mercedes garage fell into chaos as the Microsoft-CrowdStrike global outage’s tentacles reached the F1 paddock. Consequently, Toto Wolff’s team had to fix their computer systems at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix. Despite the stress of manually fixing their computer systems, Mercedes got everything operational before hitting the track. As a result, the Silver Arrows had a strong start at the Hungaroring, with George Russell finishing P4 in the first free practice session. Nevertheless, the trouble cannot be undermined.

The havoc on computer systems worldwide brought the world to a temporary standstill. The outage crippled flight services and banking services within seconds. How could F1 be spared? “We are working closely with our partners at CrowdStrike to mitigate any impact,” a Mercedes spokesperson announced. Mercedes’ engine customers McLaren, Aston Martin, and Williams also experienced issues with their machines.

F1 teams rely heavily on their computer systems. These systems are crucial for running the cars and sharing data between trackside and factory staff. Each car generates over 500GB of data per race weekend, and Mercedes uses CrowdStrike to protect it. Toto Wolff‘s team has been in partnership with CrowdStrike since 2019. As a part of their collaboration, the cybersecurity company’s branding appears on the team’s car. The company also provides a security platform for computer services in the Mercedes garage.

#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 | Global Crowdstrike outage left Mercedes fixing computers before practice sessions earlier today.
They manually addressed the problem on each computer they use and expects to will be able to operate as normal during today’s practice sessions.
“We are working…
— deni (@fiagirly) July 19, 2024

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As F1 becomes reliant on technology, such outages have become a more significant threat to their operations. This wasn’t any cyber attack, however, the threat of complete deletion of data and more such technical anomalies could’ve been possible. Luckily it didn’t!

What was the cause behind Toto Wolff’ and Co.’s technical jeopardy ahead of FP1

On Friday, a global outage hit Microsoft CrowdStrike services. The impact was massive (as you can imagine!)- grounding flights, crippling banks, payment systems and stock exchanges. This outage reached Toto Wolff’s garage, thanks to his partnership with CrowdStrike. Almost six hours after the outage, Microsoft tweeted: “Multiple services are continuing to see improvements in availability as our mitigation actions progress.” However, the residual impact of this ginormous cybersecurity outage is still affecting some Microsoft services.

Both companies, Microsoft and CrowdStrike have ruled out any claims of cyber attacks. However, the large-scale disruption has caused trouble for people across the globe. Especially in a sport like F1 which is heavily dependent on technology was one of the worst-hit. The combined efforts of both companies fixed the outage, but the impact remains visible in some applications.

The global outage disrupted various sectors, including Formula 1. Mercedes faced significant challenges but recovered in time for FP1 at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix. While Microsoft and CrowdStrike have ruled out cyber attacks. Things could have taken a worse turn but it did not. The incident highlights the critical need for robust cybersecurity and backup options in tech-driven industries like motorsport.

Were you affected by the outage? Share your experience in the comments.