F1’s latest constructors’ champion McLaren Racing is teaming up with Okta. The two parties have announced a multi-year partnership.
Starting today, Okta will provide McLaren Racing with its identity security solution to protect its users and valuable information. After the initial deployment, Okta will also scrutinize the F1 team’s digital infrastructure so that additional security measures can be taken if necessary. Exactly how long the partnership will run has not been shared.
Concentrating on the track
“We are thrilled to welcome Okta as an Official Partner of the McLaren F1 Team,” said Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing. “This strategic partnership will enhance our team’s performance, efficiency and security off the track, enabling us to stay focused on building upon last season’s on-track successes.”
“Okta is proud to partner with McLaren and we look forward to identifying how we can help protect the identities of their millions of fans, partners and employees across the globe,” said Todd McKinnon, CEO and Co-Founder, Okta. “By coupling speed with security, together we’ll be able to strengthen the team’s confidence that their identities are secure so they can focus on their performance on track.”
First team
Many tech companies have entered into Formula One, making the move a familiar one. For example, we already took a look at TeamViewer’s involvement last year, which provides Mercedes-AMG Petronas with both sponsorship and an RMM tool. Other examples abound, but the intensity of cooperation varies from one party to another. In the case of Okta, there’s an implementation which will deepen over time, which may provide instances of the tool stepping in to secure an employee’s identity. It’s a fairly sizeable challenge, given McLaren, like other F1 teams, travels the globe and therefore requires secure access without friction. Sometimes, the connection between a tech sponsor in F1 requires some extra explanation to appreciate fully. In 2021, for example, we were curious to see how IFS as an ERP package could mean something to Aston Martin Racing, which was sponsored by that company at the time.