Inside the fascinating world of F1® logistics

A Formula 1 race may be decided in milliseconds, but the sport’s biggest challenge happens long before the lights go out – and long after the wheel-to-wheel action ends.

Behind every grand prix lies a logistical feat of global proportions: 24 races, 5 continents, 21 countries, and up to 1,200 metric tons of equipment per event in 2025 – with 3 triple-headers and 5 double-headers. From cars and pit garages to broadcast centers and hospitality suites, every piece must arrive precisely where and when it’s needed.

That’s where DHL comes in. As Official Logistics Partner of F1, we begin planning each season a year in advance – mapping out a mix of sea, air, and road freight to ensure everything is in place for the start of each race. This multimodal logistics solution also keeps costs in check and supports the sustainability goals of F1.

It’s a carefully choreographed symphony of movements across sea, air, and land – balancing speed, volume, cost, and sustainability. And it’s what makes the Race Behind the Race as extraordinary as the spectacle on track. Discover how it works, what the challenges are, and get the inside track on the logistics behind the 2025 F1 season.

We’re not lying when we say logistics is a complex world – and F1 logistics is a never-ending showcase of what complex, international logistics looks like. For every grand prix, hundreds of crates and containers move in parallel: some taking weeks on container ships, others jetting overnight in cargo planes, and more rolling over highways in 18-wheel trucks. The art is choosing the right mode for the right cargo, so that no matter where the race is held, everything is there on time.

Ocean freight

The slowest but most sustainable option, ocean freight carries the bulk of the load: garage structural kits, hospitality suites, fan zones – anything categorized as non-essential to on-track performance. To make it work, teams send five or six identical sets of containers on long rotations, leapfrogging around the globe. For example, sea freight dispatched to China might next appear in Miami, while another set continues from Japan to Singapore and Baku. It’s a global jigsaw that only fits together with meticulous planning.

Air freight

While ocean freight beats at a steady rhythm that keeps the system alive, air freight is the fast pulse that powers each leg of the calendar. Cars, engines, and other race-critical technology – as well as F1’s broadcast equipment – all travel by plane, because they are indispensable on race day and can’t be rotated or left behind. These shipments get absolute priority: the moment the checkered flag falls, critical gear is packed and loaded, often overnight, so that by 10 a.m. on Monday, most air freight has already departed for the next circuit. Without this constant air bridge, there would be no race the following Sunday.

Road freight

Overland transport is the third, vital piece to the puzzle – needed at every race to ferry ocean and air shipments from nearby sea and airports to the track. In Europe, the show moves largely on wheels in trucks, many of which run on biofuels, with freight traveling overland from team factories and regional hubs. Up to 400 trucks hit the road, many with two drivers per cab to keep them moving day and night. Whether they’re snaking their way through mountain passes or shuttling to and from the sea, their arrivals must be timed with precision.

Four crucial considerations guide every move:

1. Speed – Can the cargo reach its next destination on time?
2. Volume – Which items can we send by sea to reduce costs and emissions?
3. Cost – Can we combine modes to keep costs down?
4. Sustainability – Does our solution help Formula 1 move toward its 2030 Net Zero target?

Every choice carries trade-offs. And with double- and triple-header weekends, customs paperwork, and city-center circuits to contend with, the real challenge isn’t just moving freight – it’s keeping the whole season in motion. Read on to learn more.

Unique local conditions

Some circuits present logistical puzzles all of their own. Each venue requires tailor-made solutions, often in close collaboration with local authorities. Monaco’s streets, for example, are famously tight, leaving no space for convoys to enter the city at once. Instead, trucks must queue in holding bays outside town and are called in one by one, both before and after the race. Although only 500 kilometers separated the Imola Grand Prix from the Monaco Grand Prix, the logistical challenges of entering Monaco ultimately negate any transportation time savings. The Las Vegas Strip Circuit® presents a similar challenge. A special holding yard is created to avoid gridlock as hundreds of trucks deliver equipment in sequence to one of the world’s most iconic boulevards.

Customs complexities

Much of it may be digital nowadays, but the paperwork can still pile up. Every shipment must have precise documentation to clear customs – and sometimes multiple clearances are required before it can enter the country. The complexity and diversity are mindboggling, with fuel shipments clearing easily in one country and requiring special approval in another. In some regions, even the seemingly simple components require special import/export documents that aren’t necessary elsewhere.

External disruptions

Global events can throw even the most detailed plans off course. During the COVID-19 pandemic, three teams were caught in a web of ocean freight delays ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. It took a DHL team of 100 people working around the clock and three dedicated DHL air freighters to ensure all 150 tons of cargo arrived on time. Regional conflicts have also reshaped routes. For example, many sea carriers avoid the Suez Canal – a vital shipping lane near several F1 tracks. Ocean freight for races in the Middle East is rerouted through the port of Jeddah and then trucked to the circuits. Flexibility becomes as critical as speed.

Sustainability

And then there’s the challenge of reducing emissions in a sport that never stands still. Formula 1 has committed to becoming Net Zero by 2030, and DHL is working to help them achieve it  – introducing biofueled trucks in Europe, more efficient Boeing 777 aircraft, and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for F1’s charter flights. Each step reduces the footprint, but the task remains immense for a race calendar spanning five continents.

Whether it’s navigating customs forms, city-center circuits, or shifting geopolitical landscapes, the world stage keeps every season unpredictable. Yet the mission stays the same: deliver every piece of cargo, on time and in full, so the race can go on.

The European stretch

Summer in Europe means back-to-back racing and long convoys of trucks. From Imola to Monaco to Barcelona, fleets of up to 400 vehicles move in sequence, often with two drivers per cab to keep them running around the clock. Monaco remains the most delicate operation, with trucks entering one by one into the city’s narrow streets. By the time the paddock reaches Spain, extra crews are drafted in to relieve staff who have been on the road for weeks.

North America and beyond

After Europe, the championship hops over to Canada, where containers arrive by sea from Europe and by road from Miami, while one-kit equipment flies in directly from Barcelona. The Canadian circuit’s island setting on the St. Lawrence River makes space tight, so arrivals and departures are timed with pitstop precision. Later in the year, the calendar shifts to the Americas again, with back-to-back races in Austin and Mexico City – each requiring a different mix of road, air, and sea to overcome customs complexity and border security.

The final push

The closing stretch is as demanding as the start. Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi complete the 24-race season. Las Vegas, with its Saturday night race, creates a unique advantage – giving freight just enough time to make the 8,000-mile journey across ten time zones to Qatar by Tuesday morning and ready for the next racing weekend. From there, the season concludes in Abu Dhabi, with sea freight converging from multiple regions for the twilight finale.

By the time the last container is unpacked, preparations for the next season are already under way. With so little downtime, Formula 1 logistics never truly stops – it simply resets for another lap around the globe.

Behind every Formula 1 Grand Prix lies a story of precision, planning, and partnership – a global choreography that keeps the sport in perfect motion. From sea routes mapped months in advance to trucks inching through Monaco’s streets, every detail counts, and every delivery matters.

For more than 20 years, DHL has helped power this extraordinary operation – keeping the world’s fastest sport in motion, sustainably and seamlessly, race after race.