Australian Grand Prix boss Travis Auld is confident all 22 Formula 1 drivers and their teams will be in Melbourne by Wednesday for the first race of the season, despite at least one team being forced to change travel plans amid chaos caused by the conflict between Israel, the US and Iran.
Senior motorsport figures, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns, admitted that it had been a stressful period as travel plans were disrupted just days out from the season-opening race.
Preparation for the Australian Grand Prix is almost complete.Credit: Eddie Jim
But they said that F1’s governing body was well-versed in transporting people and equipment around the world and was one of the few sports with the experience and financial power to rebook and relocate key personnel at short notice.
Israel and the US attacked Iran in a joint military strike on Saturday, killing the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and attacking targets in Tehran and other major cities.
The bombings prompted the closure of the major airport hubs in Doha and Dubai – which are key airports and flight pathways for many F1 teams and staff travelling to Melbourne.
Travel arrangements from Europe, particularly Italy and Spain, and the United Kingdom were among the key changes required after original flights were cancelled.
Senior F1 drivers were expected to begin arriving at Tullamarine on Tuesday, with other key figures such as team principals and engineers not far behind.
Construction crews were hard at work at Albert Park on Monday, continuing to set up for the four-day event, which begins on Thursday.
On Monday, Auld was confident everything would proceed as normal.
“From our event perspective everyone that needs to get here has had their flights confirmed or changed as necessary, and there’s no impact expected to our event at all,” he told this masthead.
Auld said he expected all drivers and teams to be in Melbourne “pretty much” by Wednesday and there would not be any impact to practice times.
Some staff have already arrived, unaffected by any travel disruptions.
“There’s some drivers already in Australia,” Auld said. “There’s some team members already in Australia, but there’s a number that are in the UK and broadly throughout Europe that need to get here, but they’ve just had to find another way.”
This masthead contacted the FIA and individual teams, but only Audi and Alpine had replied at the time of publication.
An Audi spokesperson said the team was not concerned about any logistical or safety issues in the lead-up to Melbourne, and would arrive on schedule.
Audi has been “in close contact with F1 and the FIA” and was “following their guidance” for international travel, the spokesperson said.
“There’ll be no impact on the race or event in any way… How that looks for every team in F1 I’m not exactly sure, but from the event delivery point of view I know they’ll be here.”
Travis Auld
Alpine did not wish to comment on the team’s specific travel details but confirmed it had to deviate from its usual routes to Australia.
The majority of F1 drivers live in Europe, while technicians, engineers, mechanics and communications staff are scattered across the globe.
Auld said there had been “incredible cooperation” from Melbourne Airport with the F1 teams to get to the track despite the conflict in the Middle East.
“That’s been a process for them,” he said. “I’m sure it’s been a lot of work on their behalf… we’ll see them all arrive on time.”
Auld said the information he had received from F1 was that everyone who needed to be in Melbourne would be here for the race.
Drivers were able to complete pre-season testing periods in Bahrain in mid-February.Credit: Getty Images
“There’ll be no impact on the race or event in any way,” he said. “How that looks for every team in F1 I’m not exactly sure, but from the event delivery point of view I know they’ll be here.”
Most F1 teams headquarters are located in the United Kingdom, with reigning constructors’ championships McLaren based in Woking, Mercedes in Brackley, Red Bull in Milton Keynes and Aston Martin in Silverstone.
Much of Ferrari’s staff is based in Maranello in Italy, while new team Cadillac has a base in North Carolina and also in Silverstone.
Nearly all the 22 F1 drivers on the grid as well as team principals and retired drivers live in Monaco, one of the world’s smallest nations.
And Bahrain, which has been directly impacted by the conflict and where airspace is now closed, hosts pre-season testing for Formula 1.
Testing for teams ran from February 11-20, but additional wet-weather development tests were scheduled from February 28-March 1.
Pirelli, the official tyre supplier for Formula 1, cancelled its scheduled testing in Bahrain, citing security and safety concerns for their staff.
Dennis Bunnik, the co-CEO of Adelaide-based travel agency Bunnik Tours, said ground travel into Saudi Arabia would be required before any flights.
“Saudi airspace is open,” said Bunnik. “So if they can get down into Saudi Arabia, then they could fly from Saudi Arabia out via South-East Asia [to arrive in Australia].
“If they can’t get out of Bahrain into Saudi, then they’ll really have to wait until the airspace is open, in which case, that would obviously impact Formula 1.”
Popular Australian motorsport photographer Kym Illman posted on Instagram that many F1 crews from the United Kingdom and Europe were finding alternate routes via Asian ports to get to Melbourne.
He said flight prices had skyrocketed.
“Each team is expecting 100+ staff/crew in Melbourne and right now, it’s estimated that a quarter of that number have arrived; the others are due between now and Thursday,” Illman said in his post.
While Auld and the FIA – motorsport’s governing body – assured fans there would be no impact on the Australian Grand Prix, the rest of the F1 calendar currently looks uncertain.
Races four and five on the Formula 1 calendar are in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia on April 12th and 19th. The sports penultimate and final race are held in Qatar and Abu Dhabi respectively
An F1 spokesperson told Forbes and ESPN F1 they were monitoring the unfolding situation.
“Our next three races are in Australia, China and Japan and not in the Middle East – those races are not for a number of weeks.
“As always, we closely monitor any situation like this and work closely with relevant authorities.”
With Chris Zappone
correction
A previous version of this story said there would be 20 drivers on the Formula 1 grid this season. There will be 22, given the introduction of the Cadillac team.
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