What Does It Take To Move Formula 1 Teams Around The Globe? – CleanTechnica

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Last Updated on: 26th May 2025, 03:37 pm

Lando Norris held out to win the Formula 1 Grand Prix race on Sunday in Monaco. Most observers agreed that the new rule of two mandatory pit stops bunched up the pack rather than eliminated a parade of cars along the narrow principality roads. Once the 78-lap race — the shortest one on the circuit — ended, the post-race interviews, awarding of the trophies to McLaren and Ferrari, and the champagne spray took center stage.

Then the teams began the arduous task of packing up their equipment so they could take to the road again. This late May weekend is part of three consecutive Grands Prix in a row — a triple-header. The next race is on June 1 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya; it’s a 7-hour vehicle trek. All equipment needs to be on site in just three days. The race must go on, and the teams must have their cars reassembled come practice sessions on Friday.

It’s all about logistics, baby.

Choreography is key: Garage walls are de-constructed, and miles of computer cabling are packed away. The trucks are tightly and carefully packed with the over 5000 pieces that comprise a Formula 1 car.

Formula 1 estimates the quantity of equipment is about 1,200 tons per race and likely to grow in 2026 with Cadillac’s arrival.

The Formula 1 calendar this year has 24 locations in 21 countries. European rounds allow the teams to transport all their equipment – including the F1 cars themselves – by truck. When the Formula 1 races are back-to-back in Europe like this week, teams generally employ several drivers so that their equipment can be trucked in a queue to their next location. Events held further afield – in different continents and/or across seas – need other forms of travel, with the paddock being flown or shipped between each venue.

Hauling The Equipment Across The Pond & Beyond

If it is not a back-to-back weekend, some teams will fly their cars to the teams’ factories so the chassis can be repainted. At that time they’ll check suspension and wiring. After that, it’s off to the airport, where logistics take precedence. F1 is in charge of transporting all cars from race to race, supported by a partnership with global logistics experts DHL. Separate planes are used by Pirelli to transport all the tires, while Formula 1 handles the 150 trackside cameras and miles of cables to enable transmission of TV images.

For some flyaway events, supplementary equipment is sent by sea months in advance.

So many logistical variables come into play.

• What is the distance between venues?
• How much shipping time is available?
• How do time zone changes affect delivery windows?
• How close to the budget can the logistics team stay?
• What equipment can be shipped by sea?
• What’s the plan to avoid restrictions on Russia’s airspace? Or military action near the Suez Canal?
• Should alternative plans be activated if seaports are congested?
• What happens if weather brings the Formula 1 transportation plans to a halt?

“I’ve been here 39 years. We used to do 16 races, five international. Now it’s 15 international and nine Europeans,” Paul Fowler, vice president of motorsport product for DHL Motorsport, said. “It was two DC-10s in the day, the 747 freighter just about existed — now it’s up to nine flights per race — and the calendar was spread. Now you’re doing checkered flag down on a Sunday, Monday we’re at the next race.”

Thirty pallets are packed on the first plane — these are priority #1 for each team. No team is allowed to unpack their pallets until all the teams’ pallets have arrived.

The less essential equipment, such as tables and chairs for their hospitality unit, can make the voyage by sea. At any one time, every team will have up to six different containers that are crisscrossing the world as sea freight, which they will eventually catch up with depending on where the F1 schedule takes them.

If a team has new parts they want to test, those pieces will often arrive with the rest of the team’s personnel, typically as checked-in oversized baggage at their departing passenger terminal.

Sustainability Goals for Formula 1

Six years ago Formula 1 committed to achieving Net Zero 2030 goals. Everything from 100% sustainable fuels in the cars to reducing single-use plastics in the paddock was on the table.

Freight logistics clearly has presented one of the biggest obstacles to a net zero series.

Regionalizing its calendar by grouping races together by geographical location has lowered air miles and some travel distances. In 2022 Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali indicated he was pleased with the progress the sport was making around sustainability but agreed more could be done.  “We are committed to making Formula 1 more sustainable and increasing diversity and opportunity across this incredible sport,” he allowed. “We remain focused on these very important objectives.”

Mercedes piloted the use of biofuels for their freight and determined that their carbon emissions were depleted by 89%. The Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO100) biofuel became the model by 2023, with all European races now delivered by trucks running on biofuel. DHL say this has resulted in an 83% cut in carbon emissions when compared to running trucks on diesel — they’ve doubled their fleet of sustainable biofuel-powered trucks in 2024.

Instead of the trucks burning gasoline or standard diesel fuel, in 2024, in collaboration with partners DHL and Qatar Airways, Formula 1 announced that it had expanded its investment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for its flyaway events. “When you look at the biofuels in our trucks, which power our European season, that’s over an 80% reduction in our carbon footprint compared to standard fuel,” said Ellen Jones, Formula 1’s head of environment, social, and governance. SAF, Jones said, is a minimum 80% reduction compared with Jet-A fuel. “For sustainability, those are massive numbers,” Jones added.

Any discussion of Formula 1’s logistics would be remiss without highlighting the gaps in its sustainability efforts.

• The average F1 staff member who attends each race of the season can expect to travel a distance of 170,700 km each season.
• The prevalent use of private jets in F1 are 14 times more polluting than commercial airliners.
• The average F1 team has a carbon footprint of 2,899 tons of CO2 per season from travel alone, meaning that the 10 teams on the F1 grid account for 28,990 tons of CO2 per season.
• During the season, Formula 1 will go through 40,000 sets of tires.
• Creating carbon fiber and running wind tunnels is extremely energy intensive.
• Events by media, merchandise, food vendors, and fans cause countless carbon emissions.
• All last-mile transportation at the track should be electric — period, no discussion.

Formula 1 considers itself the pinnacle of motorsports. It has the potential to and should be the model for net zero emissions. Logistics must continue to be a target area for the series’ improvement.