Sergio Bondi, Head of Logistics at Scuderia Ferrari HP, explains the main challenges of logistics for a Formula 1 team.
The first triple-header of the season ends this weekend. What are the logistical challenges involved?
The start of the season is always quite hectic and kicking off with a triple-header only added to the challenge. The most complex phase for us is preparing the sea freight kits, because we ship by sea the structures we use at the races: the pit wall structure, the garage panels, hospitality furniture and so forth. It’s a tricky task that requires careful planning and adherence to strict timing from all parties, especially in the current international climate.
Once on site, the biggest challenge is managing the constant flow of parts from Maranello to the track, which could be updates or replacement parts, as well as parts heading back to the factory. This was particularly complex over the Japanese weekend, because of the distance involved and Suzuka’s limited infrastructure. For Bahrain, we also had to deal with the arrival of updates for the SF-25, which was quite a headscratcher.
This long championship will visit four continents. Give us some figures relating to the movement of equipment and people of course.
I think this is possibly the most interesting aspect of Formula 1 logistics. Over the course of the year, we will travel 340,000 kilometres with 24 races across four continents. My team therefore has to manage the movement of over 100 personnel, material and equipment. When it come to the personnel, this involves organising thousands of hotel check-ins and check-outs, vehicle rentals and airport procedures while ensuring that everyone’s life away from home is as safe and comfortable as possible. As for the rest, we have six identical kits to cover the season.
Their movement is meticulously planned at Maranello as soon as next season’s calendar comes out. This year, we have already sent out the first five kits by sea freight, one to Bahrain, which with a few modifications was used for the test and the Grand Prix and the others to Australia, China, Japan and Saudi Arabia. The sixth one is in Maranello ready to go to Imola. The one from Bahrain is already en route to be used in Monaco, while the China kit is heading for Miami. From there, it will be used for the other American races, travelling by train organised with our partner Ceva Logistics.
Shorter transfers are done by truck and we try to limit using air freight for material as much as possible, for sustainability reasons.This all requires a high level of planning, as we work with limited resources to keep costs down. We try to plan as far ahead as possible, even starting the previous year, so that in the current season we only have to deal with the unexpected, such as car damage, broken parts or a sudden change in the global situation. Then there can be genuine mishaps such as a container falling and damaging all its contents.
Sustainability and efficiency are increasingly important. What measures have you implemented in recent years with regards to movement of the team and its equipment?
Economic sustainability is vital and making some less valuable procedures more efficient means we can invest in higher value ones and because some of our costs are governed by the budget cap, controlling those costs becomes even more important. Logistics is a service role and our job is to get everything done as efficiently as possible. We favour sea freight to air wherever possible because, although it’s slower, it results in considerable savings. In general, our main efficiency strategy is in consolidating the material we send.
We work with our PMO department that deals with planning and organisation, to arrange shipments for each race with consolidated loads, combining and concentrating materials to reduce the volume we transport, finding the right compromise between weight and volume. When we do have to use air freight, for example when we have back-to-back races outside Europe, we use special packing structures called Unit Load Devices, designed to fit Boeing 777s, which allow us to load the freight as efficiently as possible, as if we are playing a giant-sized game of Tetris.
