Linux drives Renault Formula 1 (ZDNet / Ingrid Marson)

From the article: “The main reason for choosing Linux was performance rather than cost, according to Verdier. “Formula 1 is not driven by cost but by time,” said Verdier. “Ultimately the metric is time per lap — to have the fastest car. We are trying to design the best car in the shortest time.””

Renault are certainly off to a good start in the 2005 F1 season. It’s amazing how much behind the scenes work goes into building and maintaining the F1 cars. According to a short documentary I saw on the Toyota F1 team they employ 600 people to work exclusively on F1 related projects.