This Is What It's Like To Go Behind The Scenes At An F1 Race

An explosion rocked an oil depot 10 kilometers east of the F1 circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on March 25. Despite uncertainty from drivers, fans, and organizers, the race is expected to proceed as planned. While the burning depot is still visible from the circuit, F1 executives and security officials have determined that there’s no ongoing risk to drivers, fans, or teams. Because of the complex logistics of moving F1 teams from circuit to circuit, canceling a race would invalidate the thousands of man-hours of labor and months of planning needed to bring F1 to Saudi Arabia. If you’ve always wondered what goes into planning these mega events, here’s what it’s like to go behind the scenes at an F1 race.

A Logistical Challenge

In 2022, the F1 season consists of 23 races. In a season of fewer than 9 months, teams have to move themselves, their cars, and their equipment between 23 different international circuits. Most of the time, there’s a couple of weeks in between races, giving teams some time to breathe, but in some cases, back-to-back weekends have races in circuits that are often on entirely different continents. This creates an incredibly unique logistical situation. Teams employ a variety of modern techniques and solutions to help with their logistical problems, combining sea freight planned months in advance with chartered flights and careful packing orders to ensure that their garages can be assembled as soon as they land. Varying conditions at each individual race location make packing and unpacking a unique challenge — at some circuits, pleasant weather might make the task of unpacking easy, while mud at others might require rubber track replacements for loaders to even begin the task of moving cargo or assembling garages.

Big Data

In addition to observing a well-oiled logistics machine, anyone who gets to go behind the scenes at an F1 race will get to check out the teams’ communications networks. Modern F1 races are carefully monitored from every possible angle, with fiber cables running all around the track to deliver telemetry to team computers at nearly the speed of light. Transponders on the cars are paired with trackside sensors, giving teams the ability to model the race via software for planning and adjustments. Settings on the cars are automatically tweaked as the lap progresses, ensuring the best possible handling for each corner and stretch. In addition to fancy technical stuff, teams track lap times, process video footage for replays, and communicate with their drivers, relaying important strategy information and getting valuable human feedback about the conditions on the field.

Practice And Purpose

The big theme that you’ll notice behind the scenes of an F1 race is purpose. Not every action is as carefully choreographed or planned out as a pit stop, but you’re still observing a group of professionals under pressure to get things done quickly and get them done well. Not only that, these are people who are obsessed with getting things done in a small amount of time. Over each season, F1 team members get plenty of practice with every job involved in a race, from setting up the team motorhome to packing up the last crate for the next race. While it’s fun to take a look at all of the hidden tech behind the scenes, the real marvel is how efficient and in-sync team members are when it comes to these basic tasks. The secret communications arrays that you don’t get to see on the TV broadcast are definitely neat, but the dedication and expertise of team members is the part that’s truly amazing.

The Show Must Go On

F1 is supposed to be a spectacle, and the recent explosion at an oil depot near Jeddah promises to make this weekend’s race a bigger spectacle than usual. F1 officials have determined that there’s no ongoing danger, meaning that the logistical problems that teams have been forced to solve to get their cars to Saudi Arabia will bear fruit. Just like with any F1 race, anyone who’s been invited to go behind the scenes will get to witness both complex modern technology and an incredible display of efficiency, coordination, and speed from the humans involved in Formula 1. The rest of us, however, will have to stick with an incredible race.

Featured Photo by Chris Peeters from Pexels