Formula One (F1) has announced a new partnership with Digital Catapult in an effort to utilise 5G technologies for events as part of the UK’s first 5G commercial application accelerator, 5PRING.

The partnership will also see a number of small and medium-sized enterprises work with F1, Digital Catapult and 5PRING to explore 5G solutions for the events industry to enhance the experience for fans both in person and watching at home.

For F1, the partnership will see the competition use 5G and other innovative technologies to test them and quantify their value through the use of Digital Catapult’s 5G lab and demonstrators.

With the work of the 5PRING Live Events programme, which begins this month, startups, scaleups, and industry experts will present 5G technology innovations for the events sector, gaining access to private networks, a tailored acceleration curriculum, coaching, mentoring and expertise from experts at Virgin Media O2, Deloitte, Wayra, West Midlands 5G and Digital Catapult.

Formula One director of strategic technical ventures, Pete Samara, said Formula One plans to build on its innovation culture through the partnership and working with a number of startups and scaleups.

“Formula One is excited to work with 5PRING to explore exciting new ways of providing fans great experiences using 5G,” Samara said.

“F1 is thrilled to be exploring with the startups and scaleups focused in this area, knowing that 5G is a technology that will transform and hugely impact event experiences globally,” he said.

Digital Catapult CEO, Jeremy Silver, said: “The 5PRING programme is firing on all cylinders to unlock 5G’s potential, and now industry heavyweights from the events industry are turning their attention to how advanced technologies can take their events to the next level.”

“It’s brilliant to welcome Formula One on board to explore how 5G can help to elevate the experiences of auto racing fans and unlock new commercial opportunities for their stakeholders.

“Bringing together the repute and expertise of Formula One with the entrepreneurialism of the startup community will result in powerful collaborations, that can stimulate exciting new solutions for the events sector,” Silver said.