Business As Usual

The Canadian Grand Prix is the only North American fixture on the 2011 Formula 1 calendar, with the continent expected to contribute to the sport further next year with the arrival of the US Grand Prix in Texas.

And with the Montreal race cropping up in the middle of what is known as the 'European swing', the logistics of getting everything across the pond become increasingly important. Shortly after Montreal comes Valencia, so it's a case of putting in the extra hours to ensure everything finds its rightful home in time for the next stop on the tour.

This, however, is routine business for the LRGP logistics team who have seen their fair share of complications over the years and are used to the challenges that the moving of heavy and expensive equipment across continents throws up.

"Everyone who is involved in this side of things knows exactly where the items go when they are preparing to pack for the next race. Each person is responsible for a different area, so they are all comfortable with the task at hand", says LRGP Race Team Coordinator Geoff Simmonds.

For the Canadian Grand Prix alone, around 70 team staff will travel, including eight members of the support team responsible for preparing all the equipment. And whilst it would be natural to think that the freight logistics would present constant bureaucratic difficulties, the truth is actually very different:

"Formula One Management (FOM) presents a strict schedule for shipment of freight to the event. Once delivered to the airport, FOM control the logistics of the freight leaving England and its arrival at the track for the event, so they do make our lives very easy", adds Simmonds.

And so when the freight leaves LRGP HQ in rural Oxfordshire (usually for East Midlands Airport), what happens to it then? Well, the team's control-sealed trucks take the equipment to the airport and it is left in the hands of the security staff there before it begins it voyage to the next stop on the F1 calendar. Once the freight arrives at the track, it is LRGP's security team which takes over duties.

For the support team, however, responsibility of the freight is far from their only role. They have numerous other jobs to do on top of this so the team puts in the extra hours to ensure everything runs on time, allowing them to concentrate on the other jobs at hand.

Of course, each race offers its own challenges. The team garage in Montreal is particularly small, so the viewing gallery (which is on show at so many of the other races throughout the season) gets left behind for this particular trip, saving 150 kilos in weight! That is just one of many examples throughout the year. Given its layout, Monaco undoubtedly presents a number of logistical challenges, too.

There may be various nuances here and there when preparing for the different races, but for the the ever-ready logistics team it is very much 'business as usual'.