The right
place at the right time – and everything where it should be: despite even
the best plans, the teams’ logistics experts are headed for an adventure
when Formula 1 is on tour. After all, if it were not for those daring men
and their ‘flying machines’, an overseas race such as the United States
Grand Prix would not be possible.
For BMW WilliamsF1 to deliver a top performance at a Grand Prix, team
manager Dickie Stanford and his colleagues have to win the race before the
race even starts: destination instead of finishing line. Roughly 80 boxes
are packed for each race at the WilliamsF1 HQ at Grove in the UK – the
smallest is beer-crate size, the largest a bulky container.
When it comes to packing, it is all a matter of thoroughness. However,
Dickie Stanford knows he can rely on his team. “For us, each individual
department is responsible for ensuring everything is packed that will
ultimately be required on the race track,” he says. “All I have to do is
make sure the crates are actually sent on their way.” |
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Miles and more:
with 18 appearances on four continents this season, Formula 1 will cover
roughly 100,000 kilometres – and it does not travel light. WilliamsF1 alone
ships 24 tons of material to an overseas race, and an extra six tons comes
from engine partner BMW. The European races actually have a few tons more.
There are lots more machines on board due to the fact that the trucks are
converted into extremely well-equipped workshops at the race track. This
allows highly complicated tasks to be performed on the cars during a Grand
Prix weekend.
There is a simple golden rule for the Formula 1 caravan: take as little as
possible – but take everything you need. A 80-page-long checklist records
meticulously what should be in the freight boxes. Always included are two
cars and one spare car, mounted on pallets for the flight, so that they can
be placed on top of each other into the cargo area of a Boeing 747. Then
there are one chassis and all the spare
parts – six of each – plus tools, wheels and pitlane equipment. In addition,
BMW supplies five to six engines for each race with tools and spare parts.
The basic equipment for the BMW WilliamsF1 team at the race track includes
16 computers and 26 notebooks. Fast communication is a vital prerequisite
for top performance, so 100 radio units plus headphones are also in service.
Don’t forget all those useful things that make life bearable in the paddock
and that are necessary to cater for VIP guests – ranging from an espresso
machine to a vacuum cleaner and 1,500 paper napkins with the team logo. “All
in all,” calculated Dickie Stanford, “we are easily looking at almost 10,000
single items.” And furthermore, there are 3,000 bottles of mineral water for
the team.
In contrast to overseas trips, races in Europe are a logistics routine for
the teams. WilliamsF1 uses two articulated lorries, two trucks, deployed as
workshops and offices in the paddock, and a mobile home. The BMW HQ in
Munich sends out one lorry, a truck for the technicians and an additional
mobile home. For overseas races, it is all about improvisation in the
paddock as the trucks are left at home. Formula 1 still travels with lots of
luggage: one complete paddock is equivalent to the storage volume of eight
jumbo jets. Regardless of the continent visited by Formula 1, everything is
where it should be, at the latest on the Wednesday before the race.
Trucks with the workshop equipment start out roughly 10 days before the
first practice session. This advance party sets up the team pitlane, paints
the floor, mounts monitors to the wall and uses 500 metres of data cable and
300 metres of power cable to install an extensive computer network. Trucks
with the cars on board leave later. Similarly, jumbos chartered by Formula 1
take off roughly nine days before an overseas race. The BMW WilliamsF1 team
sends its equipment out from London – as do the majority of teams. For
Ferrari, Sauber and Minardi a 747 takes off from Milan.
Teams can take up to one and a half days to pack the equipment, but when
returning from an overseas race the time available to pack the equipment is
slashed to between four and five hours. The ‘Formula 1 Airline’ is run on a
tight schedule. Each manoeuvre has to be perfect. It is all down to extreme
teamwork; everyone has to be able to rely on their team colleagues. To
ensure that everything is where it should be when arriving at the next event
on the Formula 1 calendar, each part is packed at precisely the place
designated for it. And time is money. It is not life that punishes those who
arrive too late, but Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone – with a stipulated
penalty. |
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