McLaren Formula 1 Team selects Immersive Labs as Official Partner

Immersive Labs, the company empowering organizations to continuously measure and optimize human cyber capabilities, has announced a multi-year partnership with McLaren Racing as an Official Partner supporting cyber workforce optimization of the McLaren F1 team. The deal sees the team using the Immersive Labs Platform, as well as carrying branding on both cars from the 2022 season. 

With valuable intellectual property and data to help protect, the McLaren F1 team will be using Immersive Labs to power a continual cycle of human cyber capability development which keeps pace with the threat landscape.

The platform will provide real-time data on knowledge, skills and judgement across the workforce by running technical and non-technical teams through cyber crisis exercises and labs.  These insights will allow McLaren to understand where everything from Executive to Cybersecurity teams capabilities lie and optimize these as risk evolves.

Operating in a sport driven by the constant refinement of human performance to gain small yet crucial advantages, McLaren continually seeks to boost team abilities – from refining pit-stop strategy to supporting the decision-making of drivers with real-time data. As the Official Partner supporting cyber workforce optimization, Immersive Labs extends this capability to cybersecurity, giving the entire workforce a critical edge over potential attackers.  

Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing said, “People and technology are critically important elements of our team, and we are excited to work with Immersive Labs to support in developing the human cyber capabilities which will empower us to better navigate risk. We operate at race pace both on and off-track, and we look forward to this partnership accelerating the human element of our cyber security.”

As part of the partnership, the front suspension arms of the McLaren MCL35M cars will feature the Immersive Labs branding from the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Both teams will also collaborate on co-branded experiences throughout this period to showcase the benefits of optimizing the cyber capabilities of workforces to senior Executives.  The first of these will be an event for CISOs at the final race of the F1 season in Abu Dhabi this coming weekend. 

James Hadley, CEO of Immersive Labs, said, “As the impact of cyber risk spreads across the business, it is no longer the preserve of the geeks in the basement. Organizations must respond as a whole, which means continually optimizing the cyber knowledge, skills and judgement of everyone from Executives to technical teams, at pace.

“Competing in Formula 1 is no different, requiring technology and humans working together in unison to stay ahead. For this reason, the partnership with McLaren Racing is an excellent fit.”