Logistics in Formula 1Formula 1 is, at heart, all about racing… But away from the frenzied 200 miles every other Sunday, a different kind of race is fundamental to the workings of Toyota Racing.
For the team's logistics department, there is a constant race against
time to get the cars, and hundreds of spare parts and pieces of equipment, to the track on time. And the challenge does not stop there – once on location, around 90 team members need food, transport, hotels and suitable working conditions.
This is no simple task and at Toyota Racing's headquarters in Cologne, Germany, Team Manager Richard Cregan and his staff work ceaselessly to ensure everything runs smoothly.
For millions of television viewers around the world, a Grand Prix begins when the red lights go out on a Sunday afternoon, but for the logistics department, each race starts a long time earlier – before the season has started to be precise.
As soon as the next season's Formula 1 calendar is confirmed, Richard and his team get to work on booking flights, hotels and, crucially, on planning how the cars will make their way to race tracks on five continents with barely any time to catch breath in-between races.
This race against time is a characteristic of motorsport at the top level and for Richard, experience counts when making such intricate plans.
"I believe the groundwork that people have to have to achieve good logistics is experience of the business of motorsport, not necessarily in Formula 1," he says.
"You have to set very clear targets for yourselves. We have our plans for the year because we make plans at the start of every season. Once the calendar is finalised from the FIA we sit down with the different departments, look at the dates of the trucks leaving, when we want the equipment there and basically we go away and arrange that," Richard detailed.
For flyaway races far from Europe, the cars, spare parts and equipment are shipped by air; but for European races, which make up nine of the 17 races in 2007, everything is taken across the continent by truck from Cologne.
Seven truckies are dedicated to filling the four trucks with everything the team can possibly need at the track, with the emphasis being on making sure nothing – from light bulbs to spare engine parts – is forgotten.
Two days are spent ensuring everything is in working order and loaded on to the trucks. All packed and ready to go, the truckies drive their cargo across whole countries, covering 30,000 kilometres in a race season.
Markus Bürger is the team leader in charge of pit equipment and trucks. He explains: "We take about 38-39 tonnes of equipment to each Grand Prix, even a bit more for European races because then of course you have all the equipment loaded in the trucks themselves, like work benches and all sorts of extras for offices that are completely kitted out."
The hard work is only just beginning when the trucks roll into another race track. Once at the circuit, the high-pressure job of unloading and building the garages begins.
Source Toyota
