It is estimated that Formula 1 can move about a thousand tons of material in each Grand Prix. The logistics of this championship require a huge effort of organization and planning by all teams.

The 2024 season of the premier class of motorsport, which begins the first weekend of March in Bahrain, has 24 races scheduled, of which more than half will be held outside Europe.

In total there are more than nine months of travel in which the five continents are traveled, sometimes separated by a single week on the calendar. The organization of each season is, therefore, a great challenge for everyone. Given the circumstances, all options are of vital importance: sea, air and land transportation.

When is each mode of transportation used? Whenever possible, material that is not directly related to the car is sent in containers by ship, thus obtaining lower transportation costs. In this case, elements such as the construction of the garage, with the furniture and decoration of the box, are included. These shipments by sea allow us to reduce carbon emissions and are made well in advance, several weeks before the date of the Grand Prix.

The plane is chosen to transport the most important material. The cars of the ten participating teams are partially disassembled into parts such as the chassis, engines, aerodynamic appendages, etc., and are transported by air from one race to another. Those parts that the teams introduce during the season to improve the performance of the car also travel.

Currently, DHL Motorsports is the official logistics partner of Formula 1 and is the company in charge of carrying out the transfers, providing a fleet of aircraft. DHL states that it uses various Boeings that travel more than 130,000 kilometers annually to carry out the transfers required by Formula 1. The transfer includes an average of 50 tons of cargo per team.

The task is complicated when tests are held in two consecutive weeks. In a few hours, the logistics members of each team are in charge of collecting and packing all the material for urgent transfer to the next scenario. Everything is calculated to the millimeter, the travel time to the airports or the documentation necessary to clear customs procedures. The next race is held on Sunday, but the equipment must be operational from the previous Thursday.

The tests held in Europe allow the teams to work with a little more margin. Sometimes it allows the teams to move their cars to the permanent headquarters and there work on the review and evolution of the car. In this case, trucks are used as a means of transportation.

It is estimated that about 300 trucks usually travel to cover the needs of each Grand Prix and each truck usually carries two or three drivers so as not to waste time with rest periods. In the case of the organization’s DHL trucks, biofuels are used for their operation, reducing carbon emissions by 60%.

The most powerful teams usually move a hundred people to each race and the plane is the most common means of transportation. The team of engineers and mechanics, the communication staff for the press center, cooks, physiotherapists… the list is endless.