The paddock will cover 230,000 kilometers this season

The Formula 1 calendar continues to fill up with the number of races held in recent years. This upward trend is explained by the lucrative contracts signed between the new countries on the calendar and Liberty Media, the promoter of the competition. This 75th season of the Formula 1 World Championship is the one with the most Grand Prix races, 23. As we await the calendar for next year, it could potentially reach 24 races.

All this leads stables to travel more and more, often over long distances. As evidenced by the journey between Baku, Azerbaijan, and Miami, Florida on the East Coast of the United States. The distance between the two cities is 11,022 km, with only 3 days for the stables to get to the location.

Minimize jet lag

Sergio Bondi, logistics manager at Ferrari, calculated the total distance that the teams will have to travel in 2023 to be approximately 230,000 kilometers this year. For comparison, the average distance in a year between Earth and the Moon is 384,400 km. The biggest challenge is to find the best possible routes and carriers that allow us to reduce the personnel’s exposure to the negative effects of travel, such as jet lag and stress.

In addition to air travel, stables must also minimize ground transportation, as explained by Bondi: « Regarding hotels, the first priority is to be as close as possible to the track to limit ground travel time. »

The F1 has launched a “zero carbon” plan for 2030

Formula 1 teams travel using charter flights. These are commercial flights, chartered by a travel agency (the team), conducted outside of regular scheduled routes. Typically, two charter flights are used for traveling between distant destinations: one for the personnel (drivers, engineers, mechanics) and another for the equipment (car, tires, technical equipment).

From an environmental standpoint, these flights do not seem to be in line with the “zero carbon” plan announced by Formula 1 by 2030. This existing initiative aims to reduce CO2 emissions from the race cars. It also aims to make events environmentally sustainable. Single-use plastics are being eliminated and all waste is being reused, recycled, or composted.

Next year, Formula 1 could arrange the calendar in such a way that travel only takes place between certain geographic zones (Gulf countries, Oceania, Asia, Europe, America) and thus limit long-distance flights.

Note that this journey between Baku and Miami will not be the longest of the season. Indeed, for the last Grand Prix of the season, the Formula 1 world will go to Abu Dhabi from Las Vegas. A journey of 13,176 km.