ECONOMICS

AMD announced an extended sponsorship agreement with the World Champion Formula One team Ferrari. With this contract extension, AMD joins other key members of the Ferrari family, including Ferrari Team Principal Jean Todt, current World Champion Michael Schumacher, driver Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari Technical Director Ross Brawn, Ferrari Engine Director Paolo Martinelli and Ferrari Chief Designer Rory Byrne in signing up with the stable of the Prancing Horse through 2006. In 2003 Ferrari entered the record books once again with its fifth consecutive Constructor's Championship, while legendary Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher made history by winning his sixth Driver's World Championship. Ferrari looks to continue their dominance in 2004 with expanded use of AMD products, including solutions based on AMD64 technology. "What we love about AMD is that they, like Ferrari, have a passion for performance, an aggressive spirit of competitiveness and a determined commitment to be the best," said six-time defending World Champion Michael Schumacher. "AMD64 technology is a testament to those qualities, and it's AMD64 technology that helps to give Ferrari its competitive edge." AMD64 technology improves performance for many applications by evolving industry-standard technology from a 32- to a 64-bit architecture. 64-bit computing allows operating systems and software to process more data and access a tremendous amount of memory. AMD64 is an industry-standard approach to 64-bit technology that combines innovation, simplicity, and foresight to deliver the next generation of performance today. "Trust, hard work, innovation, reliability and a constant desire to be the best are the key elements of a successful Formula One team, and this perfectly mirrors our philosophy at AMD," said Henri Richard, senior vice president, world-wide sales and marketing at AMD. "As the official technology partner, AMD is pleased to supply the high-performance computing solutions that help Ferrari win. We look forward to working with Ferrari in making 2004 another record-breaking year." The driving force behind the success of this technical partnership lies with the implementation of AMD's cutting-edge technology. AMD supplies Ferrari with powerful and reliable mobile PC systems and workstations based on the AMD Opteron(TM), AMD Athlon(TM) 64, mobile AMD Athlon 64, and AMD Athlon 64 FX processors for faster real-time performance diagnostics, fluid dynamics simulations, and telemetry applications. The AMD logo will maintain its familiar place on the tail fin of the Ferrari cars, as well as on the clothing of two IT specialists, steering wheels, driver overalls, pit wall, and within the telemetry computer area.