Behind the Numbers that Drive Formula 1

by Iker Cordero De Pavia (SMBA ‘22)

Max Métral sharing his professional and educational experience with SMBA '22 via Zoom.

The SDSU Sports MBA program has always sought to connect students with a diverse set of guest speakers who can share their professional experience in the sports industry. This continued on March 9, 2022 when Max Métral, Senior Analytics Manager for Formula 1, spoke to the SDSU Sports MBA Class of 2022. 

It was exciting to have the opportunity to hear first-hand from Métral, who previously worked for the City Football Group (owners of the Premier League’s Manchester City, New York City (FC and numerous other clubs), about how sports analytics and business analytics work. Métral spoke to SMBA '22 about his professional experience with data and insights, relating both to other aspects of sports business, such as sponsorship within Formula 1. He reflected on the importance of utilizing data in every aspect of business and provided stories from his experience where data analytics had proven to be very beneficial in different departments and projects. 

In addition to sharing stories about what it’s like at these world-class organizations, Métral explained some of his work on previous work experiences like churn prevention for Manchester City season ticket holders and TV ratings analytics for Formula 1. 

Métral also provided the class with an overview of the main analytics tools and technologies used within the sports industry. This was valuable information for the group, as many are interested in pursuing careers in analytics.

SDSU Sports MBA wishes to thank Max Métral for sharing his insight with the group.