Data & AI Mastery: The AI Executive Podcast

Ever wondered how Formula 1 teams make lightning-fast decisions at 200mph? In this episode, host Raoul-Gabriel Urma sits down with Ruth Buscombe, former race strategist for Scuderia Ferrari, Sauber, and Haas F1, to unpack the incredible world of real-time data strategy in one of the most high-pressure environments on Earth.

Ruth shares what it's really like making million-dollar calls in milliseconds, how her team processes 1.1 million data points per second from each car, and why the best lessons come from spectacular failures (not champagne-soaked victories). 

One of the most fascinating parts of the discussion is when Ruth explains the eternal tension between data and gut feel, and why human intuition still matters even when you have the best models in the world. 

Spoiler: your "gut" is really just your brain's LLM of past experience.

They also explore how F1 teams decide which sensors and data points actually move the needle when margins come down to 0.012 seconds, and what it's like to make high-stakes pit-stop calls with incomplete information (sound familiar, business leaders?). 

Ruth also shares some powerful stories about ‘failing forward’, including why Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says "the day we fail is the day our competitors should fear us most."

Plus, they look at how AI is transforming sports broadcasting, with F1 now able to search 75 years of race footage using simple natural-language queries. And of course, they wrap up with a quick-fire round covering everything from Python vs MATLAB to favourite subjects at Cambridge and yes, Taylor Swift workout playlists.