As the Formula One circus prepares for another bout of back to back races starting this weekend in Germany, Renault’s sporting manager Steve Nielsen explained the season in logistical terms and to run a world championship challenge.
Hotel rooms are reserved a year in advance and logistics are a constant preoccupation. “How can you summarise what we do?” he says.
“The best way to describe it is to give some numbers. The team needs 19 telephone lines at every race. 10 trucks go to each European round, each covering 14,000 miles a year and using about 2,200 litres of fuel supplied by our partner Elf.”
The garage is also full of extraordinary facts. “On the flyaway races, we take 25 tonnes of freight,” continues Steve. “Our containers travel 100,000 km a year in air cargo.” The same is true for the cars: “Three of them are taken to the overseas races. They fly 100,000 km but only cover 9000 km on the track each year!”
Another interesting detail is that each team member needs two passports. “While they are travelling with one, the other is sent away to get the necessary visas,” explains Steve. In their suitcases, each team member has ten shirts – five with Mild Seven branding and five more with the non-tobacco alibi logos. That means there are more than 400 shirts to wash after every race.”
