Lap of Legends

Michelob ULTRA Lap of Legends:​
The World’s First Ever Real vs. Virtual F1 Race ​

Michelob ULTRA rewrote the entertainment and sports playbook to connect with the recruit audience, 21 – 24, Co-ed, Caucasian & Hispanic, and challenged their competitor Heineken by creating, Michelob ULTRA Lap of Legends: The World’s First Ever Real vs. Virtual F1 Race, a 1-hour TV special across AMC, BBCA, and Roku bringing together to the track, present day Williams Racing drivers and World Champion legends, Mario Andretti, Jacques Villeneuve, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Jenson Button, and Damon Hill back to the track as virtual avatars. This unique race was made possible with the help of innovative technology, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality.​

We researched more than 720 races, 1,260 hours of footage and 144,000 miles of racing to mimic the speed, racing style, technique, and strategy of these drivers and their cars. Everything that factored into these legends becoming icons on the racetrack was factored in to complete their virtual racer profile, including stamina, aggression, tire management, and reaction to the competition.​

The 15-lap race was captured using 28 individual cameras, including 4 car-mounted cameras, 1 in-helmet camera, 2 Alta 8 drones and 18 additional cameras around each of Silverstone Circuit’s 18 turns.​

The race took place at the iconic Silverstone Circuit and resulted in a 1-hour tv special, distributed through AMC, BBC Worldwide, and Roku launching ahead of the first US Race of the season in Miami.​