How Peugeot & Capgemini Use AI to Enhance Racing Performance

There’s a challenge facing motorsport: how to balance speed, spectacle and the ultimate performance with environmental stewardship? The answer lies in innovation. Specifically, harnessing the latest technologies and tools that can enhance vehicle performance and usher in more sustainable racing and operations. 

Motorsport events like endurance races, where cars compete for up to 24 hours, embody this challenge more than most. In endurance racing in particular, the environmental impact extends beyond the limits of the track to include mission-critical areas like logistics, manufacturing, and team operations.

To tackle this multi-faceted issue, Peugeot’s motorsport division has renewed its partnership with Capgemini to concentrate efforts on developing its 9X8 Hypercar, which races in the FIA World Endurance Championship. 

The collaboration will focus on using AI to boost vehicle performance while also cutting down Peugeot Sport’s carbon emissions. 

AI powering Peugeot's 9X8 Hypercar

In recent years, Capgemini has engineered a sophisticated data platform that leverages real and simulated race data. The technology analyses factors such as driver behaviour, circuit conditions, and overall race dynamics and environment. 

Capgemini’s platform includes an advanced AI model that employs tailored and compiled virtual sensors embedded within the onboard computer of the PEUGEOT 9X8, enabling better decision making and the ability to alter the car’s behaviour in real time during races.

As a result of this approach the time needed for processing and analysis has dropped significantly – Peugeot’s race engineers can now complete in minutes tasks that previously took as much as a full day. 

Future development cycles will involve leveraging Gen AI to analyse and monitor temporal sensor data for irregularities or anomalies during longer race or testing sessions.

In addition, Gen AI will also be used to capture and structure communication between drivers and engineers, a critical aspect of effectively managing endurance races. 

Driving Down Emissions with Intelligent Strategies

Capgemini’s innovation extends into crucial sustainability efforts too. Since 2022, in collaboration with Stellantis Motorsport, it has worked with Peugeot Sport to measure and abate the emissions produced by racing activities, including those linked to vehicle operations, component manufacturing, team logistics, and event management. 

As a result of this work Peugeot has set close to 30 actions and initiatives to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, with annual assessment and adjustments as necessary. 

Peugeot’s approach surpasses even the stringent requirements set by the FIA World Endurance Championship with the company extending sustainability across its entire organisation. 

For example, research teams embrace eco-design, developing and innovating with environmental impact in mind, including in areas like sourcing alternative materials without compromising performance. 

Supplier engagement programmes are a key element of Peugeot’s roadmap, fostering emissions reductions across the supply chain including by supporting primary suppliers with their own decarbonisation efforts. 

Other initiatives include organising climate-awareness workshops, optimising travel with a preference for maritime freight, and transitioning to renewable biofuels for support vehicles, enabling an 85% reduction in greenhouse gases versus traditional fossil fuels.

“The WEC Championship is an essential discipline for Team Peugeot TotalEnergies,” said Senior VP of Stellantis Motorsport, Jean-Marc Finot. “The visibility and prestige of the 24 Hours of Le Mans make it a key event to showcase the advancements and improvements made by all actors in motorsport. 

“Beyond the sporting event, we play a pioneering role in sustainability by developing tomorrow’s technologies. Today, AI has become a key element of our racing strategy, confirmed by improved results at the end of the 2024 season, particularly at Fuji and Bahrain. Thanks to our partnership with Capgemini, we are able to closely monitor the key decarbonisation indicators to ensure we stay on track with the ambitious goals we have set for 2030. Together, we are tackling a dual challenge: sports and sustainable performance.”

Catalysing Progress Through Global Sports Sponsorship

Capgemini’s commitment to motorsport is part of a wider strategy that includes sponsoring global sporting events like the Rugby World Cup and Ryder Cup. This broad engagement not only underscores Capgemini's dedication to sport but also enriches its expertise in leveraging technology for athletic excellence and environmental stewardship.

As AI continues to weave into the core strategies of racing teams, figures like Andrea Falleni, CEO of Capgemini in Southern Europe, advocate for the dual gain of sporting success and reduced environmental impacts. He said: “We are delighted to continue our collaboration to enhance Peugeot Sport’s performance, both in terms of sporting results and the environmental impact of motorsport, by providing the latest AI technologies and our expertise in decarbonisation.”

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