"We're not making a choice between Windows and other systems. We run different kinds of HPC servers and look at the results accordingly. In the end we have to win so we use both Windows and Linux to gain that competitive advantage."

that the promised high availability of HPC Server 2008 will allow engineers to experiment with different aerodynamic and technical setups for its racing cars as close as possible to the starts of races.

"The car evolves during the racing season, and we use different packages for different races," said Grossi. "We're working to 2pm Sunday deadlines for each Formula 1 race, and as such our use of HPC Server is quite peculiar -- our servers run 24/7, and reliability and productivity is as important to us as power."

Microsoft is also delivering HPC solutions for computer-simulated modelling, testing and analysis to the oil, gas, financial services and academic sectors in Europe, and is working with AMD, Cray, Dell and HP to deliver solutions that promise increased performance, low acquisition price per node and a reduction in the overall cost of compute clusters.