As soon as an anomaly through the pandemic, triple-headers have now turn out to be an ordinary fixture of the F1 calendar.
The primary of three runs with three consecutive race weekends begins at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, adopted by an overland journey to Austria after which on to Silverstone.
In direction of the top of the yr there’s a triple-header together with Austin, Mexico and Brazil forward of a fair more durable end-of-season run of Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
And whereas the 2 flyaway triplets throughout the Americas and the Center East carry their very own logistical and HR challenges, the summer season run of Barcelona-Spielberg-Silverstone is the toughest to drag off.
Groups carry every part by vehicles, and the utmost drive occasions for truck drivers and logistical limitations of sure venues are all a part of a fancy puzzle that groups must resolve. The additional time that needs to be factored in for customs between the UK and France within the post-Brexit world has added to the logistical headache of the 1600km journey.
“From Austria to Silverstone, the chassis will likely be stripped on Sunday evening on the circuit, so that they’re proper again within the manufacturing unit on Tuesday morning, prepared for the manufacturing unit workers to begin,” Mercedes Head of Race Group Logistics Karl Fanson defined to Motorsport.com.
“Due to the customs course of we undergo now, we’ve to triple man the vehicles to ensure that we’ll get again. Typically you clear customs inside an hour, generally you may be ready two or three hours. The paperwork and admin now could be huge. Earlier than we used to double man the vehicles however they’ll solely do as much as 21 hours and we won’t assure to get again to the manufacturing unit in that point.”
It isn’t simply the upcoming triple-header that’s inflicting complications, but in addition the latest back-to-back of Imola and Monaco. Due to the cramped confines within the Monte Carlo harbour, with just one truck and crane in a position to enter the paddock space at a time, there’s a strict construct order so each workforce can construct up its motorhome and workspaces in time. McLaren was delayed getting out of Imola, which then brought on a snowball impact that additionally delayed Alpine’s motorhome construct.
“Monaco was a little bit of a problem for a couple of groups this yr,” mentioned Mark Norris, McLaren’s Director of Race Operations. “We work with F1 and the FIA on timings and it solely takes just a little bit to go unsuitable and you’ve got a knock-on impact. And we discovered that in Monaco this yr, and purely from our perspective, we have been just a little bit delayed getting out of Imola. With Monaco being Monaco, as soon as you’ve got obtained one truck in, you have to look ahead to that different truck so it’s kind of tetris-y.”
Pink Bull and Mercedes truck within the paddock
Picture by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Pictures
For groups like McLaren, the schedule concerned in shifting from race to race is additional tight as a result of it is one of many groups that simply makes use of a single motorhome unit. Mercedes deploys a second smaller motorhome beforehand used within the DTM as a secondary unit, which has confirmed significantly helpful for consecutive occasions.
“We’ve a complicated social gathering and as we arrive on the circuit we do a handover after which they transfer on, Fanson mentioned. “So on Thursday morning in Imola they left to Monaco, they got here to work on Friday and began constructing the storage.”
Dennis Reck, Fanson’s counterpart in control of motorhome logistics, added: “We have discovered fairly early that the back-to-backs are a problem, and also you begin wanting into the chance of journey time and what the professionals and cons are. It was a very good resolution to do Imola with the smaller unit and have the massive one in Monaco. When the workforce arrived in Monaco on Monday, we had every part prepared. Individuals had a spot to take a seat down and have lunch.”
Mercedes began utilizing sustainable gasoline for its fleet of vehicles in 2022 and coated the whole European season the next yr with vehicles operating on HVO100, or Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil 100. For 2024 it prolonged using sustainable fuels, along with McLaren, to cowl all of its wants on the circuit.
Being early adopters has added additional prices and complexity by way of sourcing the biodiesel, however it’s a key component of their push in the direction of a extra sustainable operation, in keeping with F1’s web zero goal for 2030. Investments in biofuel are exempt from the fee cap, which in Mercedes’ case additionally consists of its funding in sustainable aviation gasoline.
“We’ve a devoted HVO truck to refuel all our vehicles, so we maintain them shifting in the best path,” Reck added. “Working with Petronas, we’ve companions who provide us with gasoline on the go after we want it, so it is fairly helpful fairly than attempting to search out gasoline stations that provide that. We have switched to Stage V mills utilizing round 50% much less gasoline with AdBlue and HVO. We’re pushing actually onerous on that but it surely requires plenty of planning as a result of that HVO isn’t simply discovered.”
McLaren has joined Mercedes in utilizing HVO this yr. “It is one thing that we’ve actually embraced,” mentioned Norris. “It is 75% greener, extra environment friendly. Sure, the fee is barely increased, however I believe there is a trade-off with the advantages that come into it.”
That additionally mirrors initiatives by F1 itself, which has doubled its HVO fleet to 37 vehicles for this yr and has sought to cut back the quantity of freight needing to be shipped to races by means of its distant broadcast operations from the UK.
F1 additionally trialled a low-emission energy system ultimately yr’s Austrian Grand Prix based mostly on HVO and photo voltaic vitality, the info from which will likely be used to discover rolling the system out at extra races.
McLaren F1 Group engineering hub
Picture by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Pictures
Along with the groups, race promoters are additionally closely inspired to make their occasions extra sustainable, with 75% now utilizing renewable vitality to some extent.
McLaren has scaled down and revamped its previous McLaren Model Centre right into a smaller unit, which now takes eight vehicles to maneuver it round as an alternative of 18, whereas additionally halving the variety of crew members wanted to put in and derig it. In the meantime, Mercedes nonetheless makes use of the unique construction with which the workforce re-entered the game in 2010, albeit it has undergone a number of facelifts alongside the best way.
Norris admitted that McLaren’s earlier, mammoth unit would have made European triple-headers inconceivable. “I do not know the way you may try this now,” he nodded. “Once we had the Model Centre we had a couple of double-headers, however for triple-headers we might have needed to up the manpower and have individuals driving by means of the evening.
“We nonetheless have to try this now on a few of the double-headers, however we both try to fly individuals forward or we use sleeper coaches so that they arrive roughly the identical time whereas they’ve had their relaxation.”
The 2025 calendar will add an additional problem as Imola and Monaco are forming a triple-header with Barcelona for what will likely be one of the vital troublesome logistical puzzles but that squads are already occupied with now. Whereas the drive from Monaco to Barcelona is comparatively brief, having the ability to derig and get all of the tools out of the principality in time will likely be difficult for all concerned.
“We do have two hospitality models accessible, so it is for us to debate the place our precedence focus is,” mentioned Reck.
“The large problem is to get the vehicles out, as a result of through the takedown on Sunday evening there are lots of of friends operating round. It’s difficult, however alternatively we’re grateful for a way the game is being skilled within the metropolis.”
Haas F1 workforce tools arrives within the pitlane
Picture by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Pictures
For flyaways, F1 groups have an increasing number of shifted from air freight to sea freight. Solely probably the most essential performance-defining components and instruments, together with the automobiles themselves, are being jetted around the globe on DHL’s Boeing 777 cargo planes, that are extra environment friendly than the earlier technology of 747 jumbos and scale back emissions by 17%.
Different tools resembling storage infrastructure is saved in hubs around the globe, together with Florida, Singapore and the Center-East, and shipped or trucked from there to the races within the area. Most groups have six units of every part, so whereas the European equipment was utilized in Imola and Monaco, the North American set deployed in Miami was despatched out to Montreal. The follow comes with an up-front value, however pays off each in delivery bills and CO2 emissions.
“We’re beginning to have a look at much more of that. Why will we all the time have to convey this tools or these units again?,” mentioned Norris.
“It additionally takes danger away and we have seen points with the Pink Sea, Suez Canal, ships are getting held. By that in a different way we might be way more intelligent, and that additionally helps Formulation 1 from a sustainability perspective.
“I do not assume for the foreseeable future it’ll change, however if you wish to be extra sustainable, will we nonetheless transfer 180 vehicles round Europe only for these 9 races or are these flyaway kits one thing that we ought to be for Europe as nicely?”
F1 truck
Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Pictures
