The video that we edited to resemble the real thing using the data from Nagaya’s drive through the virtual Shibuya racetrack we’d created gave rise to the sensation that he was really driving in that moment for the people who witnessed it in Shibuya.

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsports, with over 500 million fans worldwide. Yet only 1% of people are able to experience its speed and sound up close. It’s a sport which only a handful of people have the opportunity to enjoy. In Japan, it takes place far from the cities, and as it is no longer broadcast on television, interest is fading.

Lenovo is proud to have the largest market share in the PC world but our brand image is shallow in Japan. It is imperative that we elevate our brand image while also remaining passionate about F1 in the country. In 2022, we became an official partner of Formula 1 and became the title sponsor of the F1 Japanese Grand Prix in 2023. Even now, our technology is being used in F1 venues.

A former F3 racing driver continuing to follow his dream after being paralyzed from the waist down following a crash grabs the wheel and drives a Formula 1 racing car flat out through Shibuya. One man’s F1 race is realized virtually in Shibuya thanks to Lenovo technology.

As an official technology partner of F1, Lenovo, who became the title sponsor of the Japanese GP in 2023, embarked on an F1 activation aimed at increasing F1 interest and brand enhancement in Japan. They supported a former F3 racer with technology, enabling him to fulfill his dream of driving an F1 car and delivering the F1 experience to everyone.

While obeying Japan’s strict traffic regulations, at the time of filming we drove a dummy car through Shibuya in line with Nagaya’s driving data. Then when we came to edit it, we replaced everything with a real original design F1 racing car. We also recreated the authentic sound of F1 based on the engine noise of a real F1 car and created a race through Shibuya.