• In a first for the motorsport, Formula E team DS Penske was fined for installing RFID scanning tech in the pitlane at the Portland E-Prix at the weekend.
• The team was handed a €25 000 fine and both drivers ordered to start from the pitlane.
• The purpose of the scanner is unclear with some reports suggesting the team was collecting all possible data and the team saying it was merely monitoring tyre data.

Where once motorsport was all about how a driver performed on track, the modern version of the sport makes use of troves of data to hone a vehicle in order to shave milliseconds off of lap times.

Racing cars are fitted with a bouquet of sensors that teams can use to monitor engine health, temperatures and even a driver’s vital signs. At the weekend, however, Formula E team DS Penske was fined for hoovering up the data of other teams. The reportedly set up Radio Frequency Identification tech in the pitlane at the Portland E-Prix at the weekend.

Initially it was reported that the team was scanning tyre selections using the RFID technology, but as per Autosport, it was later reported that DS Penske was able to collect “live data from all cars”.

The team, however, says that the scanning technology was only able to scan serial numbers of tyres.

“This equipment was used to gather information that was strictly limited to the serial number of the tyres. This information is available and commonly collected by teams using a simple camera. This information has no impact on the performance of our cars,” the Formula E team said in a statement.

Whatever the purpose of it was, the technology landed the team in hot water and earned a €25 000 fine. The team’s drivers Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne were also ordered to start in the pitlane of the Portland E-Prix.

Vandoorne echoed the stance of his team.

“Obviously what we did was wrong. But the message that was brought across was not correct, people saying we were stealing data from other teams,” says Vandoorne. “That’s not what we did, we were just trying to check what set of tyres others were using, which you can do with a normal camera. The other teams are doing that, they are using photographers in the pitlane. We found a clever way, or an easy way, and we paid a big price for that.”

This is said to be the first such incident involving RFID technology in Formula E. Teams aren’t permitted to install telemetry except that expressly permitted by the FIA.

“The Stewards were advised by the Technical Delegate that the competitor had installed RFID scanning equipment in the pit lane entry this morning that was able to collect live data from all cars. Firstly, it is forbidden in general for competitors to install or place any equipment in the pit lane. Secondly, the collection of data by this method gives the competitor a lot of information, which is a huge and unfair advantage. Taking all the circumstances together, the Stewards feel that the given penalty is appropriate,” the motorsport authority said per The Verge.

As motorsport becomes more about data analysis we suspect that more incidents like this will pop up, especially as the competition gets more heated.