INDEX / DIRECTORY / MCLAREN / DIGITAL

McLaren DIGITAL

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE AUDIT UPDATED 2026-07-04
Digital Score 0.05 /10 E McLaren - BDS-1000 8
Digital 0.05

Evidence-only forensic audit. Scoring happens downstream - see the main dossier for the composite assessment.

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Digital Audit: McLaren

Scope & Corporate Ownership Context

This audit covers McLaren Racing / McLaren Automotive / McLaren Group (Woking, UK-headquartered), spanning its Formula 1, IndyCar, road-car and applied-technology operations. As of September 2025, McLaren Racing is wholly owned by Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (majority) and CYVN Holdings (Abu Dhabi, minority, non-controlling), following a buyout of former minority shareholders MSP Sports Capital, Ares Sports/Media/Entertainment funds, O’Connor Capital Solutions and Caspian Funds at a $5bn valuation 12.

Enterprise Technology Stack & Vendor Relationships

Cisco has been McLaren’s Official Technology Partner since 2022 and, since May 2024, its Official Security Partner, supplying end-to-end networking, Secure Firewall, Cisco XDR, ThousandEyes and Webex collaboration tools across the race-weekend paddock, the mobile data centre and the McLaren Technology Centre in the UK 3456. This footprint constitutes core network and security infrastructure rather than a peripheral sponsorship, spanning the team’s data-centre backbone and collaboration stack 36. Google (Alphabet) is a long-standing McLaren partner whose relationship was extended in November 2025 and re-centred on Gemini AI, covering engineering workflows, race-operations decision support, a custom Gemini-powered natural-language race-data tool, and continued use of Pixel devices, Android, Chrome and Google Cloud analytics 78910. Dell Technologies has served as McLaren’s Official Innovation/HPC partner since 2018, with PowerStore/PowerScale storage and HPC underpinning CFD and aerodynamic simulation workloads of up to 50 million simulations per race weekend; the relationship was extended again in February 2026 11121314. VMware (now a Broadcom subsidiary) has been an Official Partner since May 2022, providing multi-cloud infrastructure for McLaren’s applications and data, and remained listed as an active partner as of January 2026 1516. Stratasys, an American-Israeli, dual-headquartered additive-manufacturing company, has been McLaren’s Official Supplier of 3D Printing Solutions since January 2017 under a four-year deal that has been continued, with roughly 20 Stratasys printers on-site at the McLaren Technology Centre producing over 24,000 components in 2023 171819. The separate Arrow McLaren IndyCar team extended its own multi-year Stratasys partnership in 2025 2021. McLaren Racing and Arrow McLaren also announced a new multi-year data-security partnership with Rubrik in January 2026, and Trend Micro is listed as an official cybersecurity partner of the McLaren F1 team 2223. No public evidence identified of any direct licensing, subscription or integration relationship between McLaren and Check Point, Wiz, SentinelOne, CyberArk, NICE, Verint, Claroty or Palo Alto Networks. No public evidence identified of a named systems-integrator or IT-outsourcing consultancy engaged by McLaren that has separately mandated Israeli-origin technology; McLaren’s identified technology relationships are direct vendor partnerships (Cisco, Google, Dell, VMware, Stratasys) rather than integrator-mediated procurement 37111617.

Surveillance, Biometrics & Retail Technology

No public evidence identified of McLaren using any Israeli-origin facial-recognition, biometric or gait-analysis technology (e.g., from vendors such as Trigo, BriefCam, AnyVision/Oosto or Trax) at its facilities, retail stores or fan-engagement operations. No public evidence identified of McLaren deploying predictive-analytics tools for workforce or social-media monitoring. No public evidence identified of Israeli-origin biometric or predictive-analytics tools reaching McLaren indirectly via bundled enterprise software suites from its named technology vendors.

Cloud Infrastructure, Data Residency & Sovereign Cloud Participation

No public evidence identified that McLaren operates, leases or co-locates any data-centre infrastructure in Israel. No public evidence identified that McLaren itself participates in Project Nimbus or any Israeli government cloud programme; however, McLaren’s own cloud and AI vendor, Google (Alphabet), is a co-contractor (with Amazon) on Project Nimbus, a $1.2bn Israeli government cloud and AI contract signed in 2021 242526. Per the UN Special Rapporteur’s July 2025 report to the Human Rights Council, Google Cloud and the Nimbus consortium supplied “critical cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure” to the Israeli military in October 2023 when its internal cloud capacity was overloaded, delivered via Israel-located servers designed to “ensure data sovereignty and a shield from accountability” 27. This is a corporate-parent-level nexus involving Alphabet rather than evidence that McLaren-specific workloads touch Nimbus infrastructure; No public evidence identified either confirming or ruling out whether McLaren’s Google Cloud tenancy is regionally segregated from Nimbus’s Israel-based infrastructure. No public evidence identified that McLaren itself provides data-sovereignty or resilience services to Israeli state institutions, as McLaren is a technology customer in its vendor relationships rather than a provider to Israeli state bodies.

Defence, Intelligence & Security Sector Technology Relationships

No public evidence identified of any direct contract, partnership or service agreement between McLaren and the Israeli Ministry of Defence, the IDF, or Israeli intelligence agencies; McLaren’s exposure in this domain runs exclusively through its vendors’ separate customer relationships. Cisco, McLaren’s Official Security Partner, has held Israeli MOD server contracts since 2013 (reportedly worth $150m) and 2017 (reportedly worth $250m, U.S. FMS-funded, replacing HP), and built the “David’s Citadel” military data centre, completed in 2020 at a reported cost of NIS 1.6bn, integrating roughly 300 military surveillance and combat units 2829. Cisco has also been reported to have supplied communications and CCTV infrastructure to West Bank settlement hubs and occupied Golan Heights sites under a 2019 project, supplied Jerusalem’s “Smart City” surveillance and CCTV programme including facial-recognition capability in 2017, and supported the Israeli Home Front Command’s “Israel Rises” platform, with Cisco’s Israel revenue reported to have grown from $122m in FY2015 to $283m in 2024, of which $111m was attributed to “conflict impact” 282930. Dell/EMC, McLaren’s Official Innovation Partner, won an Israeli MOD server tender reportedly worth over $150m in January 2023, and EMC separately won a $300m military storage tender in 2010 and supplied 50,000 desktop PCs to the Israeli military in 2006; Dell also sponsored the “IT For IDF” conference in July 2024 and received Israeli government R&D subsidies for a National Cyber Park facility adjacent to the Israeli military’s ICT Division campus 3132. Who Profits also documents Dell cloud infrastructure use by Bank Hapoalim and by Cognyte Technologies for cyber-intelligence systems reportedly used to track populations in Gaza and the West Bank 3133. VMware, an Official McLaren Partner since 2022 and now a Broadcom subsidiary, was reported around 2016 to have a “10-year relationship” with the IDF under which all IDF data centres were standardized on VMware vSphere, alongside a further roughly $27m, three-year vCloud Suite licence tied to the IDF’s Negev/Naqab base-relocation programme 3435. No public evidence identified confirming or ruling out whether this VMware-IDF relationship continued after Broadcom’s November 2023 acquisition of VMware. Stratasys, McLaren’s Official 3D-printing partner since 2017, has been reported to count the Israeli military as a major customer, with some employees and executives subject to IDF reserve callup, and its PolyJet manufacturing, R&D and one FDM facility are located in central and southern Israel 36. Stratasys’ FY2023 Form 20-F, filed with the SEC, discloses a dedicated risk factor on operations in Israel citing the October 2023 Hamas attack and the ensuing war, stating that as of the filing date the impact was “limited” but “could be significant” if the conflict escalated 37. Advocacy and investigative reporting from AFSC Investigate and Drop Site News allege that Cisco-supplied servers and infrastructure underpin Israeli military AI systems reportedly used in Gaza operations, including systems referred to in reporting as “Lavender,” “Gospel” and “Where’s Daddy?” 2930; these are third-party allegations about Cisco’s infrastructure generally rather than McLaren-specific findings. No public evidence identified that McLaren or any of its named technology vendors develop, sell or maintain offensive cyber capabilities specifically for Israeli state actors, as distinct from general-purpose infrastructure or security products.

AI, Algorithmic & Autonomous Systems

No public evidence identified of McLaren providing AI or machine-learning systems to any Israeli government, military or security customer; McLaren’s own AI use, including its Gemini-based partnership with Google, is applied to racing performance, engineering and fan engagement 789. No public evidence identified that McLaren’s AI models are trained on or access civilian, intercepted, or surveillance-derived data originating from Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories. No public evidence identified that McLaren has developed or provided any autonomous targeting or tracking systems; the reported allegations concerning Israeli military AI-targeting systems relate to infrastructure supplied by McLaren’s vendor Cisco, not to systems developed by McLaren itself 2930.

Technology Ecosystem & R&D Footprint

No public evidence identified of McLaren operating any research and development centre in Israel. No public evidence identified of McLaren acquiring any Israeli technology company or making startup investments in Israel. No public evidence identified of any patent, IP-sharing or co-development arrangement between McLaren and Israeli academic or research institutions such as the Technion, Hebrew University or the Weizmann Institute. Separately, competitor engagement in this space is documented for other F1 teams rather than McLaren: reporting on startup deal-making in the F1 paddock notes a Palantir/IBM partnership with Ferrari, not McLaren 38.

Civil Society Scrutiny & Regulatory History

No public evidence identified of McLaren appearing by name in the OHCHR database of business enterprises linked to Israeli settlements, in Who Profits’ company database, in AFSC Investigate’s company database, or in the “Don’t Buy Into Occupation” coalition’s 2024 (DBIO IV) or 2025 (DBIO V) reports 39404128312430424344. McLaren’s Israel-relevant exposure identified in this research sits exclusively at the vendor level - through Cisco, Dell, VMware and Google/Alphabet, each separately documented in Who Profits, AFSC Investigate and DBIO-adjacent reporting - and through McLaren’s direct commercial partner Stratasys, an Israeli-incorporated company, rather than through any direct McLaren listing in these databases 283124301737. No public evidence identified of an organized boycott, divestment or sanctions campaign naming McLaren specifically. No public evidence identified of any regulatory or legal action involving McLaren’s technology sales to Israeli entities, as McLaren is not identified as a seller or provider to Israeli state entities in any source reviewed.

Evidence Gaps & Research Limitations

No primary McLaren corporate disclosure - annual report, ESG/sustainability report, or regulatory filing - was located that itself addresses Israel-related technology exposure; all vendor-side findings derive from the vendors’ own disclosures and press materials or from NGO investigative reporting, including Who Profits, AFSC Investigate, Drop Site News, Electronic Intifada and MintPress News, rather than from McLaren directly 282930313233. Company-by-company inclusion of Cisco, Alphabet, Dell/EMC or Broadcom/VMware within the “Don’t Buy Into Occupation” IV and V report annexes was not directly confirmed from the primary PDF text, though each vendor’s inclusion in the OHCHR-adjacent Who Profits and AFSC Investigate databases was confirmed via those organizations’ own company pages 424328312430. No specific dollar value, contract number or scope document was identified for Stratasys’ Israeli Ministry of Defense or IDF business beyond secondary reporting characterizing the Israeli military as “a major customer” and Stratasys’ own SEC risk-factor language 3637. VMware’s reported relationship with the IDF is sourced to reporting dated to approximately 2015–2016, and No public evidence identified confirms or denies its continuation after Broadcom’s November 2023 acquisition of VMware 3435.

End Notes

Footnotes

  1. https://www.sportcal.com/news/middle-east-funds-take-full-control-of-mclaren-racing-at-5bn-valuation/ ↩

  2. https://www.mclaren.com/racing/latest-news/2025/mclaren-racing-consolidates-shareholder-structure/ ↩

  3. https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsroom/en/us/a/y2024/m05/mclaren-formula-1-team-leverages-cisco-security-portfolio-as-part-of-expanded-partnership.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/about/why-cisco/mclaren-racing.html ↩

  5. https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366587295/McLaren-Formula-1-Team-revs-up-network-security-with-Cisco ↩

  6. https://blogs.cisco.com/security/racing-against-threats-how-cisco-security-powers-mclarens-f1-prowess ↩ ↩2

  7. https://blog.google/company-news/inside-google/company-announcements/mclaren-gemini/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  8. https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula-1/2025/mclaren-racing-announces-partnership-extension-with-google/ ↩ ↩2

  9. https://cloud.google.com/transform/mclaren-racing-miami-grand-prix-win-ai-cloud-performance-innovation ↩ ↩2

  10. https://www.blackbookmotorsport.com/news/f1-mclaren-racing-google-gemini-ai-sponsorship-extension-november-2025/ ↩

  11. https://www.dell.com/en-us/blog/the-competitive-edge-with-the-mclaren-formula-1-team-where-data-meets-determination/ ↩ ↩2

  12. https://www.mclaren.com/racing/latest-news/2026/mclaren-racing-extends-relationship-with-dell-technologies/ ↩

  13. https://investors.delltechnologies.com/news-releases/news-release-details/mclaren-racing-extends-relationship-dell-technologies-accelerate ↩

  14. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260217741670/en/McLaren-Racing-Extends-Relationship-with-Dell-Technologies-to-Accelerate-Performance-On-and-Off-the-Track ↩

  15. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220511005138/en/VMware-Becomes-an-Official-Partner-of-McLaren-Racing ↩

  16. https://www.mclaren.com/racing/partners/vmware/mclaren-racing-announces-vmware-official-partner-mclaren-formula-1-team/ ↩ ↩2

  17. https://www.mclaren.com/racing/partners/stratasys/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  18. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170123005672/en/McLaren-Racing-Signs-New-Four-Year-Partnership-Stratasys ↩

  19. https://investors.stratasys.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/377/mclaren-racing-signs-new-four-year-partnership-with ↩

  20. https://www.mclaren.com/racing/indycar/2025/arrow-mclaren-stratasys-announce-multi-year-partnership-extension/ ↩

  21. https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/lights-out-and-away-we-print/ ↩

  22. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260128736601/en/McLaren-Racing-Announces-a-Multi-Year-Partnership-With-Rubrik-Across-the-McLaren-Mastercard-Formula-1-Team-and-Arrow-McLaren-IndyCar-Team ↩

  23. https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/business/campaigns/formula-1.html ↩

  24. https://whoprofits.org/companies/company/7400?google= ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  25. https://theintercept.com/2025/05/12/google-nimbus-israel-military-ai-human-rights/ ↩

  26. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/23/what-is-project-nimbus-and-why-are-google-workers-protesting-israel-deal ↩

  27. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session59/advance-version/a-hrc-59-23-aev.pdf ↩

  28. https://www.whoprofits.org/companies/company/6529?cisco-systems= ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  29. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/cisco-systems-israel-genocide-gaza ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  30. https://investigate.afsc.org/company/cisco-systems ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  31. https://www.whoprofits.org/companies/company/7370 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  32. https://electronicintifada.net/content/dells-complicity-israels-genocide/50824 ↩ ↩2

  33. https://www.mintpressnews.com/dell-microsoft-big-tech-role-israeli-occupation-report/285104/ ↩ ↩2

  34. https://www.networkcomputing.com/data-center-networking/vmware-wins-israel-defense-forces-data-center-contract ↩ ↩2

  35. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/vmware-to-modernize-israeli-militarys-desert-data-center/ ↩ ↩2

  36. https://www.fabbaloo.com/news/stratasys-and-the-impacts-of-military-mobilization-in-israel ↩ ↩2

  37. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001517396/000162828024010213/ssys-20231231.htm ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  38. https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/10/the-hottest-place-for-startups-to-strike-a-deal-the-f1-paddock/ ↩

  39. https://www.ohchr.org/en/business/bhr-database ↩

  40. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/un-human-rights-office-updates-database-businesses-involved-israeli ↩

  41. https://www.opensanctions.org/datasets/ps_ohchr_settlement/ ↩

  42. https://dontbuyintooccupation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024_DBIO-IV-report.pdf ↩ ↩2

  43. https://dontbuyintooccupation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2025-DBIO-V-report.pdf ↩ ↩2

  44. https://www.alhaq.org/publications/26931.html ↩