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FIA to Deploy AI ‘ECAT’ to Police F1 Track Limits in 2026

The governing body says the semi‑automated platform will accelerate enforcement by auto‑flagging potential breaches, with evidence sent directly to teams.

Overview

  • ECAT (Every Car All Turns) integrates into RaceWatch in 2026 to monitor all corners in real time using computer vision, precise positioning, micro‑sector timing and geofencing.
  • The FIA reports a 95% reduction in cases needing human review thanks to the existing computer‑vision tool now enhanced with higher‑performance GPUs.
  • A centralised camera controller with distributed processing allows video workloads to run across the network, increasing speed and coverage for incident detection.
  • Race control will be able to share infringement footage with teams to increase transparency and shorten disputes over track‑limit calls.
  • The process remains semi‑automatic, with human stewards retaining final authority on strikes and penalties even as automated alerts surface suspected violations.