The fact that the 2024 FIFA World Cup was hosted by the Kingdom of Qatar caused a great outcry around the world. On the other hand, the fact that Formula 1 has been driving in autocratic states for years is apparently accepted without complaint. Money rules the Grand Prix world. The FIA is no better than FIFA there.
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Abu Dhabi and Qatar – the Formula 1 calendar for 2023 again features a large number of countries that are way down the international ranking for human rights and freedom of the press. And if Russia hadn’t stupidly invaded Ukraine, the rights holders would probably have been happy to have the around 50 million euros in entry fees paid out of Vladimir Putin’s state treasury for a little longer.
In the coming season, the 45 million euros from China will probably also go to waste. Formula 1 has given the motherland of the corona virus a wide berth in the last three years. The cancellation was announced again on December 2nd. The strict zero-Covid policy made it impossible to hold.
After the country suddenly opened up again, the organizers are now trying to reverse the decision, but the teams would certainly like to save themselves the trip to the Far East. As far as travel and freight costs are concerned, they have to dig deep into their pockets. Those responsible for logistics expect an increase of up to 40 percent in this area. The strong dollar, high inflation and fuel surcharges are driving prices up.
In addition, there is the global Formula 1 boom, which is causing full grandstands and fully booked hotels. While it was still possible to stay anywhere at a bargain price during the Corona crisis, prices are now increasing massively. “Let’s take England as an example. We pay 25 percent more from one year to the next,” calculates Sauber sporting director Beat Zehnder. “It’s getting more difficult everywhere. Austin is already fully booked for 2023. We tried to book ten additional rooms in our hotel. No chance. Everything is already blocked.”
According to Beat Zehnder, another problem is that air traffic has still not returned to normal after Corona. Not all connections are in operation again. “For example, we have problems getting people back from Melbourne. Even before the date was announced, all flights the day after the race were fully booked. And if there are still seats available, you often have to pay twice as much as before.”
The scheduling of the races also drives up expenses. Actually, Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali had promised the teams to pay more attention to have the races organized regionally. But those were just empty words. “The calendar could not have been put together much more expensively,” complains Beat Zehnder.
The trouble starts at the beginning of the year. There are two weeks between each of the first five races. If China is canceled without replacement, as announced, there will even be a four-week gap. The teams therefore have to fly home again and again in between. You could have perfectly linked Bahrain and Jeddah. Stopovers in Asia or the Gulf region would also have made sense on the journey to or from Melbourne.
Then follows a double-header in Baku and Miami, which doesn’t make much logistical sense because the factories in Europe go east and west. In general, the plan is very airy at the front and very tightly knit at the back. It could have been made more balanced.
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The planners have twice packed three races on three weekends in a row. The so-called triple headers are not well received by the teams: “It’s extremely exhausting for our mechanics,” explains Aston Martin team manager Andy Stevenson. “When it comes to the third race in a row, you can’t expect the same performance as the first. Especially at the end of the season, everyone is extremely exhausted.”
In the final sprint of 2023, three America races will be combined with Austin, Mexico and São Paulo. According to Beat Zehnder, the whole thing is not only exhausting, but also logistically problematic: “We saw that in 2021, when fog in Mexico messed up the tight schedule. That’s always a danger there. In addition, Mexico is so high that you can’t see the planes pack it all up. It’s a logistical challenge.”
The situation is only mitigated somewhat by the fact that the mechanics know the cars well at the end of the year. With the delayed landing in São Paulo in the 2021 season, the technical puzzle was pieced together in half a night shift. With the first three-pack of the year, the whole thing should not work out so quickly. At the end of May, the F1 circus travels from Imola to Barcelona via Monte Carlo. The teams also have the large motorhomes in their luggage.
Beat Zehnder explains where the special challenge lies: “In the past we have traveled from Barcelona to Monaco in a week, but the journey from Imola is a good deal longer. In addition, the set-up and dismantling in Monaco is always associated with chaos. The Europe triple header is therefore worse for me than the one in America. That really worries me.”
The teams are particularly annoyed that they were not consulted about the calendar planning and that their concerns were not heard. It’s all about the money. If an organizer pays accordingly, they can also determine the date. According to Beat Zehnder, this would mean flying around the world unnecessarily. When looking at the lonely race in Montreal in the middle of the European season, the Sauber veteran can only shake his head: “These are by far the most expensive cargo flights of the year. We pay almost a million just for freight costs.”
Because the costs for air freight have risen sharply and are fully included in the budget cap, many teams have started to ship more and more parts by ship at lower cost. The problem with this: everything that belongs to sea freight has to be purchased in multiples because of the long transport routes. While the racing teams used to have five equipment kits in circulation during a season, the record calendar for 2023 is now forcing most teams to put together a sixth package.
If you add up all the originally planned distances between the Grand Prix locations – without returning to the factories – you arrive at a record value of 133,570 kilometers. This means that the road to the announced CO2 neutrality in 2030 is getting longer and longer. The climate balance does not seem to be a priority at the moment.
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