April 16, 2024 • 42 mins
You've probably heard this saying - F1 is a travelling circus. On this week's episode, we are joined by two of the best experts to help us understand the sheer complexity of putting on every year this 'travelling circus'.Joe Pompliano is an entrepreneur and investor with a passion for breaking down the money and business behind sports. Giorgia Tirabassi is a Trackside Operations Manager at DHL Global Forwarding - DHL is one of the longest-standing sponsors in F1 and the main partner in charge of logistics. We also briefly touch on the hot topic of how many races should the F1 calendar have. Is 24 races too many races?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hmm.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Should we do comedy, as we say in the biz,
let's do comedy, all right, ready, Tony Michael. Do you
have any idea what it took just for me to
be here in the studio with you today?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
You know I do not. I have a feeling you're
about to tell me.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well, I'm gonna tell you. Okay, Okay. I got up,
I put on my shoes, I took the sea train,
I stopped at the cafe on the corner here, great
coffee by the way, I took the elevator, and here
I am.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
That seems pretty straightforward.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Well that's the thing. It's anything but straightforward.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Think about the amount of logistics happening in the background
to get me here today. I'm talking train conductors, policemen, barristas,
coffee farmers, dorman, elevator technicians. When you think about it,
it's a logistical miracle that I'm here with you today.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Well, I surely feel blessed.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
For my heart pots one on one studios and Sports
Illustrated studios.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
This is choosing sides, yes, one wow wow. Someone once
told me there's no plan B when it comes to logistics.
You know, we joke about Ferrari's plan A, B, C, D, E,
F G, And they'll say, well, what's interesting is in
(01:24):
logistics there's no plan B. Plan A has to work,
those freights have to make it to the destination on time.
Is that true?
Speaker 4 (01:33):
I mean, I think it would be wrong to say
there is no plan B because in a way, there
never is a plan. It's constantly evolving. So we start
with Plan A at the beginning of the season and
we end up with Plan Z in a few months,
because it's just everything happens. I mean, we had COVID,
we had strikes, we have wars, we have weather, we
(01:53):
have pandemics, we had I mean we saw that literally
the moment we said, okay, what next, what else can happen?
Something else was happening, happening, So we thought COVID and
the pandemic was the worst moment of our life. Now
even worse. Yeah, So I think we become expert of
dealing with issues, of finding solution to a problem, and
(02:15):
we always get to a plan in the end and
we make it happen. But to get to that make
it happen, we change multiple times. So I mean I
would say, yes, we always make it happen. But to
get there, there are a lot of plan ABCD.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
There's lots of pivots happening. Yeah, this is Georgia Tierra Bassi,
DHL Motorsports track side manager.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
If I had to list what I do, I think
we would be here for hours.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
She's going to help us understand all of the logistics
that goes into the Formula one race we can.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
I know you're expecting me to be skeptical about this
week's topic, but I'm actually I'm all in great.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
I admit I didn't peg you as a logistics man.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
You know, I think it was US General Omar Bradley
who once said amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics. So yeah,
I hold that to be inherently true.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
I absolutely love that there we go. So there's a
lot of focus on Formula one that goes into drivers,
the speed, the money, the glitz, the glamor, and all
of that is true and all good and well. But
to me, truly, one of the things that astounds me
with this sport is the logistical component of it all.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah, I mean, you've described it, but I've also heard
other people describe it as a traveling circus. Help me
understand why that's true.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
There's nothing else like it. Really, there is nothing else
like Formula one logistically because of all the different components
that go into it. I mean we're talking about the
car is alone weigh two thousand pounds.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
This is Joe Pompiono.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Hi, Joe.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Joe's a banker turns sport expert. He loves everything that
has to do with the underbelly of the sports machine,
so finances the in this model, but also the logistical
efforts underlining it all.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
They're racing at top speeds of two hundred miles per hour.
The drivers are like movie stars relative to what's come
out over Netflix over the last few years and their popularity,
and it's just unlike anything else that we have in
sports today. And I think it's really challenging specifically because
it's really one of the only global sports that we have.
There are sports leagues that play in other places. There's
you know, European football teams that play friendlies in the US,
(04:25):
and even the NFL goes international. But Formula one is
global in its blood. It's everywhere. They travel every single
year to the same places all over the world, and
it makes it really challenging because it's not an asset
like business where you can just kind of pick yourself up,
fly over there and then do the event. You need
the cars, you need grand stands put up, you need
premium hospitality. You obviously need to bring hundreds of employees.
(04:47):
You have to have the motor homes set up and
the hospitality areas for the teams themselves, and that's really
challenging logistically because there's so many different moving parts.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
So remember when we talked about sponsorship a few episodes back,
and we talked about F one having official sponsors and
teams and drivers have their sponsorships and promoters have their sponsors. Well,
DHL has been one of the longest standing sponsors for
Formula one for over forty years, and DHL is one
of those sponsors that helps F one make sure that
they can put on this traveling circus.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Yeah, DHL are the longest official partner of F one.
I'm not a Formula one fun I mean I like
the logistics behind it, but anything to do with Fromula one,
like drivers, teams and everything else, I kind of know
it because I'm working in it, so I have to
have a basic knowledge. Yeah, but I wouldn't define myself
(05:40):
as a Formula one fun if they ask me who
won after the race nine times after ten, I'm like,
no clue. I need to go on the internet and
check because I don't have the time to actually watch
the outcome. I need to focus on Okay, did they crash? Yes,
then I have to ship more frame.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
You are my dream expert who's just like, yeah, yeah,
Formula one, that's all good. Let's talk logistics.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Yeah. The race is the only time we have where
it's quiet because everyone, of course is busy watching it,
so we don't get customer in the office. It's the
only two hours we have to catch up on emails
to relax a little bit, so we actually we use
that time to relax and catch up on anything we
(06:25):
haven't been able to do. I focus on air freight mainly,
but in our job, there is I mean, there is
nothing really you can focus on because we are track
side and we are the face of the company in
a way, so we need to know a bit of everything.
We have an office at the circuit in every single event,
(06:47):
so if there is an issue with any kind of
shipment air fhrase, see freight customs, anything, we have to
have the answer.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
The HL the shipping company, the.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Shipping company, that same company that a lot of people
complain about that loses their package.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Right. I don't even know what DHL stands for, but
thankfully there's internet connection here.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
No Google it for us or bring it for us.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I'm going to bring it for you guys. Let's guess
drove it here myself. I like that DHL acronym meaning.
Speaker 6 (07:21):
Gilblm put up a portion of his student loans to
start the company, bringing in his two friends, Adrian Dalcy
and Robert Lynn as partners. They shared a Plymouth duster
that they drove around San Francisco to pick up the
documents and suitcases. Then they would rush to the airport
where they booked flights using a relatively new invention, the
corporate credit card.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Dalzy, Hillblom and Lynn as expected, an American founded German
logistic company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service,
delivering over one point eight billion parcels per year. That's
what American founded German logistics. I'll tell you what when
it comes to logistics, the Germans, I'm I'm pro German.
(08:05):
There you go, when you say DHL sponsors. What does
that mean, like who's paying who here?
Speaker 3 (08:14):
So it's a bit of a mixture. And again the
numbers and the finances in F one always a bit opaque,
but I think on this one they probably look some
sponsors paying kind and what I mean by d is
they pay with the technology we mentioned Oracle, Aws, et cetera. Google,
they offer the tablets and all of that. I think
with this one there's a fair amount that DHL puts
(08:36):
up front. But also it's not because we're flying DHL
planes that Formula one doesn't actually pay for this, so
they're chartered planes and we'll get we'll get into the
n antiquity of that because the teams then have to
pay Formula one for spaces on that plane as well.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
I see.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
So there's a couple of layers to this.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
Jeez.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
They've been working with DHL, their their logistics and chipping
partner for forty years now, and DHL actually sends thirty
five dedicated specialist Formula one to every single race to
oversee it.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
So yeah, in total, we always have up to fifty
people on site at teach events.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
It's one of those things where they're obviously presenting sponsor
of the series. They get paid a lot of money
and they get a lot of value out of the
partnership that they have with Formula One. And this is
their gig right, this is their job, this is what
the company does, so they've obviously put a lot of
resources towards it to make sure that everything runs smoothly.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
We have got our air freight team, We've got C Freight,
We've got PADO Club, we have got our TV guys
who focus on the TV broadcasters. So everyone is a
specialist in something, but as well as they know how
to do everything, So we tend to have one team
that has got one specialist on each side, but overall
(09:47):
they can all cover each other's job. We all know
each other. We're all like a little village dealing with
the same people. You're just in a different country. So
it's like we were all a big team. Just move
in from A to B and BB to C. So
it does feel like a big family.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
So we used to have a much lighter calendar. And
actually that's another hot topic in this sport of people
saying we don't need I'm a big believer in that
that we don't actually need more races It used to
be that we had maybe twelve, sixteen, eighteen races in
the season, which meant that more or less between each
race weekend there was a week or two or three.
Now we're adding more and more races, the calendars getting
(10:27):
bigger and bigger, which means that we now have to
squish a lot of these races together, which means we
end up with double headers and sometimes triple headers.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
It's the nature of the business model, which is race
promoters paying extravagant fees for the traveling circus to come
to town, and they're really giving a lot of the
annual revenue to Formula One. It's the basis of their business.
And in other sports, if we want to talk about
American specifically, if you think about the NFL or the NBA,
or any of the major sports leagues here in the US,
that position of power is really with the media companies,
(10:56):
right It's with the ESPNS, the Fox, the CBS, those companies,
because they're the ones that are providing the most revenue
to the sports leagues. It's no secret if you look
at the NFL, they make about twenty billion dollars a
year in annual revenue, but about ten or eleven billion
of that is coming specifically from their media partners. So
there's this constant tug of war going on of like,
we're going to give you better games if you do this,
and vice versa. And I think that's the relationship in
(11:18):
Formula one that belongs with the race promoters because they're
the ones that are essentially I mean, if you look
at some of these races, they're paying upwards of fifty
million dollars every year for Formula one to come to
town for like three days, right, And that's obviously a
lot of money, especially when you break it down on
an annual basis per event. And I think that's the
reason why these race promoters have so much power. And
that's not to say that Liberty Media and Formula One
(11:38):
don't have power. I think that they just have to
kind of work together to figure out the best schedule,
and it's not always easy when you're moving twenty to
twenty five different partners around.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
In Unison, I think we are hitting the limit because
we keep adding and adding and adding, and you don't
realize that we have got one team of people that
are doing this race. So at the end of the day,
to ask a person that has got a life, that
wants to have a life to do even more races.
I mean it means a lot of days away from home.
(12:10):
From what I have seen, people are starting to complaining
now because it's I mean, you don't get any work
life balance. It's just work. It just never stops. I
mean sometimes it feels like we're shipping organs or I
mean we are saving lives, like your doctors saving lives.
The stress that you feel is enormous.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
This year, we're going to do Vegas and then we're
gonna go and fly in Abu Dhabi, which is insane
by the way, because it's a twenty five hour trip
from Vegas to Abu Dhabi and then there's eleven hour
time difference between the two, and then we're expecting these
drivers to drive.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
It's not safe.
Speaker 5 (12:45):
I actually tweeted something out last year when the NFL
traveled to Germany for their game, and there was a
huge debate about when the team should get there. I
forget who was. It was either the Dolphins or the
Chiefs that got there like three to four days before
the other team, And the argument was that if you're
not going to go a week early, you're better off
just going like two days early, because then your internal
clock is not going to be as messed up, and
(13:06):
by the time it reverts to that, you're moving back.
And I made a comment just kind of like a
throw away comment, essentially saying that it's really hard on
the body, and Formula one drivers have to do with this,
but the fact that you're getting hit, you know, makes
it that much harder. And I did that, and obviously
people got upset form of the one fan saying this
is a really physical sport. And I went back and
I hated that I did that because I'm not one
(13:27):
of those people that say Formula one isn't physical. It's
extremely physical, right. The g forces that you have in
certain corners and the toll that it takes on your body,
not only physically but mentally is really challenging. And I
think that's where jet lag comes in is I read
this quote. It was in the New York Times a
few years ago, and as a physio for one of
the teams, and they were essentially saying that what they
want to do is they want to get to a
location that they're going to race. If it's one hour
(13:47):
time difference, they want to get their one day ahead.
If it's three, they want to get their three days ahead.
And when you're racing in a time zone like Las
Vegas to Abu Dhabi, that's I don't know how long
ahead that is. It's probably like eight to ten hours
or something like that. That is extremely challenging, and it's impossible
because the race is actually only seven days beforehand. They
have families, they want to hang out at home, they
want these other things, so to do that. You've seen this.
I mean in Singapore, a lot of the drivers they're
(14:09):
completely inverting their schedule. Las Vegas was the same thing.
They're staying up until the early morning hours because quality
isn't taking place in some instances, or practiced till one
or two in the morning.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
We were having breakfast at four pm, lunch at midnight,
and dinner at like two am when we would get
back into the Hope. And you think, and I don't
need to get in a car and race and experience
the g forces and I'm already messed up.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
Yeah. I mean, the half of the drivers and the
team members probably don't even know what time it is
when they go to certain places, right, because it's just
it's like a blur and you're doing it for several
months at a time, and that's obviously difficult on the drivers.
They're the athletes that are performing, but I think one
of the most underrated parts is really how hard it
is on the team members too.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
In Las Vegas, we were starting at a three pm
and finishing at six am in the morning, so you
adapt to the actual schedule of the race. That is
another interesting part of the job. You just have to
work when you have to work, and it's like your
body adapts to it.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Also, these little boys can raise their little cars around
the track yep, yep today, heart's content.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
You get used to sleep when you can sleep, so
like like you have eight hours off, okay sleep, that's
I mean, it's just something that your body understand when
you have time to sleep, sleep, because any other time
you just have to do something, so you just you
learn to use the time you're given.
Speaker 5 (15:29):
In some instances, they're also away from their family for
months at a time. Right when the European schedule comes out,
it could be two months at in a row that
you're away from your family most of the week. So
that's really difficult. Not only them, but their families too,
if you have kids and other things like that. So
I think part of it's the driver's, part of it's
the teams, and it adds up to this just extremely
complicated scenario logistically that's almost impossible to solve. But they're
(15:50):
getting better at it each year.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Look, we all want to grow whatever sport we're talking about, yeah,
but they all get sucked into this idea football, baseball
of more and more and more, and it dilutes the
quality of the sport and it puts the athletes at risk.
Don't do it, and it's interesting. That's not what this
episode's about.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
No, but it's a fair point because one of the
arguments that I make all the time is not we're
diluting the championship. The less races there are, the more
important each race is towards the championship and the championship points.
The more races you add. The fact that we have
this year Maxwistappan who's won the championship and there was
what four or five races still to go, is an
interesting problem that we are in now.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
So it's a long flight to Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
It's a long flight, and.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Think about those special gloves with the monitors on them
at heart rate? What if that gets lost in the flight.
What if you just get a left glove.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
And that is part of the.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Then you'll only know what the athletes left hand heart rate.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Is the left. Yes, we're digressing.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Let's take a short logistical break here so we can
listen to some ads. So back from the ads. So
let me ask maybe a silly question, maybe a brilliant question.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Sure it's a brilliant question.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
It wouldn't be so sure, honest alpine races they come in,
what are they usually coming? Fifteen sixteen? It depends. Okay,
it doesn't matter what midfield. Okay, midfield for the sake
of this question has no bearing on the question. Okay,
they pull into the paddock at the end. Where does
the actual physical car go?
Speaker 4 (17:26):
You will never see a full car. It's always in pieces.
The only time you see a car, it means it's
a show car. So it's not an actual car. It's
too sensitive to send it completely built, so it is
completely put in parts and sent as each individual item.
(17:46):
You will never see a car. You will only see
a box containing parts of the car.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
How much equipment are we talking here?
Speaker 5 (17:53):
You know.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
A couple of trucks, four or five trucks, Is it
just like the Formula one cars and they put a
little good track on top.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
And they can get there faster because they can go
so fast.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
The visual to that is pretty spectacular.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Would effect win track?
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Yes, yes, yes, Okay, if you want numbers, I have numbers.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Yes, they want numbers, okay.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
Fifteen hundred tons of equipment throughout the entire year and
they're traveling seventy five thousand miles.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
The DHL cargo travels in six or seven Boeing seven
four seven cargo planes.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
In Europe it is up to nearly four hundred trucks
for every race.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
If you had too much time on your hands and
you wanted to put each of these trucks one in
front of the other, they would make a convoy longer
than five kilometers.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
They're not all the HL trucks. The teams have got
their own hospitality trucks and garages which are all rended.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Each team ships the equivalent weight of eight elephants per race.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
How many kangaroos is that?
Speaker 6 (18:54):
Michael assuming Tony is referring to an average African male
elephant and Michael has in mind the male red kangaroo.
The answer would be one thousand and three hundred kangaroos
worth of freight per team per race.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
Over a season, the teams will ship six hundred and
sixty tons of air freight and five hundred tons of
sea freight.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
But what's that on elephants?
Speaker 3 (19:18):
You know, it's funny that you as I have the
number in elephants. That's the equivalent of one hundred and
sixty five elephants. I think that's all the stats that
I have for you related to logistics.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
I weigh roughly point zero one five of an elephant.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
That's not too bad.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
One of the more interesting parts is actually the kits
at the beginning of the season. So again everything's loaded
up on maybe two, three or four cars that are
going to European races and driving to each other. Most
of the equipment feels fits on there, excluding the motor homes,
which are obviously a little bit bigger need to be
on bigger trucks. But when we talk about flyaway races,
all of that equipment is mostly transported. That isn't the
cars and other things on these kits that are sent
(19:56):
at the beginning of the year.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
They have got between five to sik set and they
can rotate them in between races and they can cover
the whole year.
Speaker 5 (20:06):
And I think that logistically is one of the more
challenging parts because those are happening in elite frog positions. Right,
They're not only going to Zanvor and then going back
to the factory. They're going to Miami. But instead of
going back to the factory, they're staying on the road
for another three months, and they're being transported to Austin,
to Las Vegas, to Canada, to Mexico and other places
in the same area.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
What part of this job do you sit back and go,
I can't believe we pull this off.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
This makes nose, I would say, what is chocking me
every week is how quickly everything is part done and
moved because you wouldn't even imagine it.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Do you have any idea when they start packing up,
for example after race? Yeah, like right after the race,
do you think there's like a day to.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Like, let me tell let me tell you how the
Daily Show does it? Okay, Okay, So we go to
Atlanta last year for four shows and Thursday the show
ends at eight thirty one pm and they start packing
up at eight thirty two pm, Like before you're even
done finishing, they're taking the lights down. I would assume
that F one is that time's a bit bazillion.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
It's very close to that. They actually the moment the
cars hit the track, they already are.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
They're already doing it.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
While the race is happening, everyone is focused on the
race itself. Everything else is moving and you don't see
what's happening because you're focusing on the race. But in
the meantime, everything else is being parked because a few
hours afterwards everything has to leave. So it is just
crazy how it takes maybe three four days to set
(21:37):
it up and a few hours to pack it crazy
and unless you are on site, you just don't realize
how quickly that happens.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
It's not uncommon for the entire F one presence to
be completely gone eight hours after the Grand Prix is finished,
like everyone's just disappeared, which is kind of crazy.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
It's like a one night stand right.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Here, and then you're not and.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Then you're gone, just longing, just.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Just gone on the bedside table.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
Miss me and I'm gone.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
When do we go by boat? When do we go
by plane. Okay, when do we drive? When is it horseback?
Speaker 5 (22:26):
No?
Speaker 2 (22:26):
What what mode of transport are we using? And why
you can't go Vegas Abu Dhabi on a truck?
Speaker 5 (22:31):
No you can't, Right, So it depends on how much
time you have in between certain events. Right. So the
kits that I talk about, those will move on boats
because you have several months before you need them, and
then once they get to Miami or Brazil or wherever
they're going, then they'll be transported on cars to the
next races from there. But things that would go on
a plane would be the cars themselves or things that
(22:52):
you need to get there immediately.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
The air freight is normally the most valuable items, which
is normally like what is extremely sensitive? Yeah, it cannot
be replicated. It's one set only, and that goes air freight.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
A lot of like the general equipment we'll call it carjacks, tables, chairs,
things like that will already be there because it'll be
on one of the kits. But obviously the cars need
to get there, so that will go on a plane
and other like immediate things that could be necessary that
you don't necessarily want to put on a kit several
months before that you're going to use at the actual
race that are either expensive like the cars or extra
(23:27):
engines or things like that will be transported via plane.
And the trucks are really just used for the European races,
so those are things that will transport everything from the
cars to the engines, to the tables and the chairs
and everything in between.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Right.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Of course, an influence is also the costs. Of course,
air freight is more expensive than sea fraight. So what
they're trying to do because of the cost cup is
they're trying to send as much as they can sea
freight because it's cheaper to send it sea freight than
air freight.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
So at any given time, there are ships and planes
with f one cargo going around the world. Only imagine
plopping all of this up on a map is pretty insane.
They but for the flyaway races, they divide the cargo
into really important crucial equipment and then the stuff that
can go slow that we also have four five different
(24:14):
packs the same version of the same stuff.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Then it's going to land in a port and run
through customs.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Customs.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
I mean, I've like in my little comedy world, I
get hung up performing in Canada because I got to
go through their like tax department, you know, and then
it's like now I'm in the States. And then they
go to Australia and it's like this is just me
and I can only imagine it's insane.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
I don't think there's a single story where a race
couldn't start because the cargo didn't arrive. But there are
many stories of just like riots have broken out in
a country, or there's a canal that's been blocked because
lots of and so all the ships are being waited,
and at that point they will take a snap decision
and go, well, the cargo that we were sending to
another location, let's dock it, let's put it on a
(24:56):
plane and get it back here fast. And so you
have these insane decisions that come up those moments because
the world is what it is and certain things that
we can't control.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Yeah, I think this year a race was canceled because
of a flood, Right.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
There's not a flood. Tire amphibious vehicles, those things are sweet.
There's your kids ever do those?
Speaker 7 (25:15):
It's gonna turn on the propellor.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
He's gonna hold lord and we're gonna quaggle.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
Lot it roll. I think one of the craziest things
to me is the motor homes at.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
The European races, which makes sense if you've ever gone
camping versus taking a plane trip, you can take a
lot more with you. So those motor homes that you're
talking about, they aren't much bigger and is more to
build because they bring more at the European races.
Speaker 5 (25:46):
And specifically Red Bulls. Red Bull is famous that they
bring their motor home to Monaco and they've stood it
in the bay, right, And what they do is they
literally bring it to the bay and they construct it.
It takes twenty five crew members thirty six hours to
assemble it and one day to take it down. They
put it on a barge and they bring it to Monaco, right,
they float it down the Italian Riviera, which I think
is just absolutely amazing, and it speaks to the lengths
(26:10):
that these teams will go to to make sure that
everything's set up. Because part of what we have to
remember here is that most of Formula one revolves around sponsorships, right,
certainly at the lower level teams, the majority of their
income is coming through sponsorships, and maybe a little bit
less called forty percent of their income is coming through
sponsorships at the high level teams, but these teams are
making you know, hundreds of millions of dollars in some
cases from sponsorships each year. So entertaining those sponsors in
(26:34):
places like the paddock club or in the motor homes
themselves is especially important to the income and the business
of these teams. So Red Bull certainly takes it seriously.
Mercedes Ferraris and a bunch of these teams take it
really seriously because they know that if people come to
the races, they have fun, in some cases, they're going
to spend more money with the team next year, or
it could sell a sponsorship in the future. And that's
(26:55):
a huge reason why Formula one kind of gets this
reputation for just being this luxurious, you know, sporting event
where there's champagne and there's caviare and there's lobster and
there's all these things. And I think part of the
reason why that's true in some cases is because they're
entertaining corporate partners that are paying tens of millions of
dollars annually to make sure that everything runs smoothly.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Yo, Hi, this is when you would play my stand
up my stand up comedy joke on my special about
packing for driving versus packing for flying.
Speaker 7 (27:28):
When you fly somewhere, you really think about packing. You know,
you talk it out with each other. We stuff things
in the shoes. That's a good spot. But if you're
driving somewhere, Brillian, bring it. We're driving, brigand.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Honey. Should I bring the blender?
Speaker 5 (27:49):
Yes?
Speaker 7 (27:52):
I may want to make fresh tomato soup this weekend.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
What about the treadmill? It's already packed. We're driving.
Speaker 7 (28:00):
We're driving, person your see fill twelve of you ride?
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Does there happen to be I don't know a fun fact.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
I feel like Mary Poppins going in my bag. Now,
give me a fun fact.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
Give me a fun fact.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
There's a rule now that states that when the team
crates are placed on the pit lane of any venue,
that's when they all arrives. Teams are not allowed to
access their team crates until every single team has received
all of their cargo.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Love this, like fence. Love this.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
And the reason I think why every team is on
board with this is you just never know what could
happen to you, and if it could be you so
I think that's pretty cool. It's both but it's also
a safety and security thing as well, that you can't
have one team upfloading stuff well and other team's not
doing anything, because then those people are probably hanging around
on the pit lane and all the pitwalk and they
shouldn't be there.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
And I also love that F one with all of
its data and game strategy and logistics, they all just
agree like sometimes they fuck up your luggage, so we're
all just gonna wait, like even like they're there's so
in control of everything, and but they're still just like,
look as if at a fairness. I thinks I love
(29:16):
this rule.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
And it's even if there's like two or three shipments,
like you wait until everyone, which I think is a
nice role. I do that now with my husband when
we both order something and we're both waiting for it,
we will open up our packages when we've both seen.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
That, oh that's not what I did.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Won't be doing that.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
We're at a point in my family where if your
food's ready, you eat it. You you know, but I'm
I don't. I'm hoping we also change that eventually. But
with we have kids, two little kids, it's just like
you eat when you can eat.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
We're hoping that everyone in F one is adults at
this point.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
I would love it if we could hire an F
one logistician at our house, like one, because that would
help me manage my life tire as well to its
full capacity. Let's keep moving moving. One of the attributes
that I'm really enjoying this season, okay, of learning about
F one is this cooperative competitiveness. Tennis has this a lot,
(30:15):
Like you end up having to practice oftentimes with someone
who might be your opponent because you have to and
both parties are like, we're both in this town or
country together, we need to practice. Or you split a
hotel room with someone that's in the draw. You might
play that person. But I'm really enjoying learning how F
one has some of that cooperation.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Yeah, I must be the same, and I imagine answer
this for me. They're practicing amongst themselves because there's no
one else that's better than the coming.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Right, you can only practice with so many people. I
like that, all right, So what's being moved? The cars?
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Everything?
Speaker 2 (30:54):
The wheels, does PERELLI take the wheels, the gloves.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
Absolutely everything you see and that is used during a
race weekend is most likely being transported.
Speaker 4 (31:05):
Apart from the circuited cell. Yeah, that's the only thing
that that.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Sense because the circuit doesn't actually belong to Formula one.
It actually belongs to the promoters. So that's not going anywhere.
Even think about even like we talked about all the data,
there's data storage systems and data servers that are being
moved as well. There's cable that's being moved like that list.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
There's a guy with a handcuff on a briefcase that's
got the hard drives.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Never met him. Oh you want a fun fact? Yeah,
so want of fun fact doesn't involve a guy with
a briefcase and handcuffs, but it does involve a guy
called the f one tailor with a backpack. There is
one guy that walks up and down the paddock who
is sole job and only responsibility is to tailor anything
that any of the drivers need, whether it's their gloves,
(31:54):
the suit anything. There's a fantastic story that I was
told by one of the team's last see about Fernando Alonso.
The way they they work with very specific manufacturers and
very specific teams. The people who do the under garments,
the people who do the race suits and everything is
tailored to absolutely an inch of their lives. And the
person who had been doing Alonzo's gloves for many, many
(32:17):
years changed and apparently Alonzo when he tried on his gloves,
he was like, this doesn't feel right. What's happened? And
they said, oh, we've got to do it, and He's like,
I can feel it, and so I'm going to need
a few jass the changes. So there is there isn't
a guy with a briefcase, but there's a guy with
a backpack who's called the tailor, who gets called into
whenever any of the drivers need a bit of tailoring.
(32:37):
That's call job.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
There's an a called tailor for these drivers.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
You know there's a guy in New York. Yeah that
you probably know this. YOHI Endzoltan. There's a guy in
New York who twenty four hour emergency phone will saw
your couch in half? Wait what then move it because
it won't fit in your apartment. In New York City,
people have a huge problem of their couches won't You
(33:02):
can get in the apartment, but you can't get in
the building or in the elevator. Called the couch doctor.
He'll saw your couch in half and then move it
upstairs for you and then reassemble it for you.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
Yes, I just had a situation with a puppy.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
You'll saw the puppy and half.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Quickly give us the rest of that story.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
No, I mean the point. I'm just gonna go right
to the point here. But if you guys need to
have a really good and I think you know, not cheap,
but like you know, you get your money's worth couch
cleaner yea, if anybody needs so, yeah, yeah it's not.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Let's talk about my favorite part of logistics when it
comes to anything which involves large groups and travel. Carrots food, yes, close,
but yes, carrots. Like if you're if if Lance Stroll
loves his carrot and he's in Las Vegas and they're
(34:00):
going to Abu Dhabi, Like, is someone going grocery shopping
in Abu Dhabi? Is they bring it's just caviar? Sorry
but bad example, but catering food? Like, how is all
this happening? Someone's in charge of this, Someone is in
charge of the food.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
You've actually absolutely there's someone in charge of the food.
And you've probably just named one of the few things
that doesn't really travel with the flyaway races, so catering
is mostly organized on site. Also, things like you mentioned,
like the amount of people moving, like things like booking
hotel rooms, cars, even internet connectivities, all stuff that's generally
(34:35):
done on site. You know, they're not creating motor homes
for all of these people. They are maybe for the
drivers and the direct teams in European races, but in
flyaway races, this is all stuff that's left to what
happens when we land out.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
But what about the like data cables.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
Data cables I think is a mixture. I think the
teams have the cables and the connectivity that they need
for their own screens. But then, as with there anythinking
F one, there's the stuff that the f I needs
to govern that race. There's the stuff that Formula one
needs to put on the race and run f on
TV and all of that, and then it's all of
the stuff that every team needs.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
It has to be perfect, it has to be perfect.
Mix CHAMPI slow like oh you know Vegas, their internet's
a little slow, Like what's the password? Like, it's got
to be perfect, it's got to be perfect.
Speaker 4 (35:22):
There are days where you just can't keep up. You
just hate it because the stress is a lot, the
deadlines are just unbelievable. But when you see that it's
a team efforts. So when we all work together as
a team, which we just learn to understand each other well,
learn when is the right moment to ask something, to
do something, well, learn when it's the right moment. Maybe
(35:45):
just avoid any additional stress. So it becomes in a way,
a little family where you all know how to deal
with each other and you know how to make it work. So,
I mean you can actually see that by working as
a team, we make it happen. And regardless of how
(36:09):
much we may argue and fight in between, at the
end of the day, we have made it happen together.
So every single individual has done something to make it happen.
And that's what makes it rewarding at the end, because
on Sunday night, after every race, you can see that
your effort have made it happen.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
So there's boats, Yeah, there's planes.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
Explains six to seven planes.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
There's trucks. None of this sounds good for the climate
or environment.
Speaker 5 (36:38):
It's probably not. I think it's not up to me
to decide. Probably where Formula one is on their net
carbon neutral promise, but they've obviously made that and it's
something that I know that they're serious about. So we'll
leave it up to Liberty Media and Formula one to
give us some numbers in the near future about what
progress they've made on that, and hopefully we're at least
trending in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
I don't want to come across as snooty because this
is a competitive sport. It's all gratuitous and you know,
we don't need to have ye so there is an
acceptability of like the stuff costs money and costs resources,
but f one it seems a little bit over the top,
(37:21):
like maybe we could do a better job.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
These other times where I really miss Sebastian Vettel because
he was so good at talking about I absolutely realized
that I race in the sport that guzzles fuel as
we travel around the world, and at the same time
I'm campaigning to save the bees because we need to
save the environment. And he has such an.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Edgy campaign to save the bees.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
He bought bees this year to Japan and built opponent's helmets.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
They were on the track, they had.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
These like little bee hives on the track. That they
were like painting. I don't know if the bees were
actually on track, but the beehives one track, but maybe
the bees were there too be meet up. But he's
so eloquent at talking about both things can be true,
like this is a sport that's constantly you know, we
have to do.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
Better, because that could also be seen as like rich
pro athlete is so out of touch so with reality.
But you're saying he did it in the right way.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
He did it and I these are not my words,
but one of the people who used to work very
closely with him explained it this way, like he is
middle class, white sis married man, and yet he always
campaigned for all of the right things. He always found time.
He's the last person who needed to campaign for LGTBQ rights,
(38:37):
He's the last person who needed to campaign for eco friendliness.
He's the last person who needed to campaign for you know,
equality and diversity, and yet he was always there and
he still is. I only say that as he's no
longer in the sport and left last year, But he
had such a good way of saying, I have to
be comfortable driving and being in this sport and also
(38:57):
doing good in the world. One doesn't take away from
the other as long as you're conscious and willing to
have And look, here's the amazing thing about him is
he had those conversations under the Aramcobana and got very
comfortable at doing that.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
In the world of Sebastian Vettel, the B and LGBTQ
was b's.
Speaker 3 (39:21):
So, Michael, final thoughts. Are you a logistics fan?
Speaker 2 (39:24):
I am a logistics fan. I'm impressed and I don't
know if it's going to make me turn on a
race to know that all this school logistics is happening.
But to even just watch Su Paulo, Vegas Abu Dhabi,
it just blows your mind that it's the same teams
(39:45):
and the same drivers in such a different part of
the world. It blows my mind. And you know, there's
like a wife that's like, how's Abu Dhabi this week?
And he's like, it's actually I'm in Vegas. You know,
it's like, oh, well, whatever, I don't give a.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Shit, you're not here.
Speaker 6 (39:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
Exactly what you've helped me appreciate is when I'm watching
the race, there was just so many factors that made
this race happen, much like me getting here today, with you,
blessing you. You said you were blessed?
Speaker 3 (40:14):
What was the existence?
Speaker 2 (40:15):
What'd you say it was? We as we all feel blessed.
We all feel blessed watching F one race, knowing all
the things that needed to happen to make that happens.
Bless you.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
This has been Choosing Sides F one, a production of
Sports Illustrated Studios, iHeart Podcasts and one oh one Studio Podcasts.
The show is hosted by Michael Costa and Tony Cowen Brown.
This episode was edited, scored, and sound designed by Senior
producer Jai Maythan Scott Stone is the executive producer and
(41:00):
head of audio, and Daniel Wexman is Director of podcast
Development and production manager at One on one Studios. At
iHeart Podcasts, Sean Titone is our executive producer. And a
special thank you to Michelle Newman, David Glasser, and David
Hootkin from One on one Studios. For more shows from
iHeart Podcasts, go visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or
(41:26):
wherever you get your podcasts, and whatever you do, don't
forget to rate us and tell your friends it really
does mean a lot.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
So next week, I'm Choosing sides f one, the gossip.
What is Formula one without the literati? The gossip, the scandal,
the drama. It's going to be salacious watching and Hi inappropriate.
Speaker 2 (42:01):
Let's get down there we go.
Speaker 3 (42:03):
We will have the awkward celebrity moments, we will propagate
unsubstantiated rumors, and we will have a pandemic of luxury.
Watch feels cool.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
Can't wait? Talk about that shit.
Speaker 3 (42:13):
Let's go, oh dear,
Hmm.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Should we do comedy, as we say in the biz,
let's do comedy, all right, ready, Tony Michael. Do you
have any idea what it took just for me to
be here in the studio with you today?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
You know I do not. I have a feeling you're
about to tell me.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well, I'm gonna tell you. Okay, Okay. I got up,
I put on my shoes, I took the sea train,
I stopped at the cafe on the corner here, great
coffee by the way, I took the elevator, and here
I am.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
That seems pretty straightforward.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Well that's the thing. It's anything but straightforward.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Think about the amount of logistics happening in the background
to get me here today. I'm talking train conductors, policemen, barristas,
coffee farmers, dorman, elevator technicians. When you think about it,
it's a logistical miracle that I'm here with you today.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Well, I surely feel blessed.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
For my heart pots one on one studios and Sports
Illustrated studios.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
This is choosing sides, yes, one wow wow. Someone once
told me there's no plan B when it comes to logistics.
You know, we joke about Ferrari's plan A, B, C, D, E,
F G, And they'll say, well, what's interesting is in
(01:24):
logistics there's no plan B. Plan A has to work,
those freights have to make it to the destination on time.
Is that true?
Speaker 4 (01:33):
I mean, I think it would be wrong to say
there is no plan B because in a way, there
never is a plan. It's constantly evolving. So we start
with Plan A at the beginning of the season and
we end up with Plan Z in a few months,
because it's just everything happens. I mean, we had COVID,
we had strikes, we have wars, we have weather, we
(01:53):
have pandemics, we had I mean we saw that literally
the moment we said, okay, what next, what else can happen?
Something else was happening, happening, So we thought COVID and
the pandemic was the worst moment of our life. Now
even worse. Yeah, So I think we become expert of
dealing with issues, of finding solution to a problem, and
(02:15):
we always get to a plan in the end and
we make it happen. But to get to that make
it happen, we change multiple times. So I mean I
would say, yes, we always make it happen. But to
get there, there are a lot of plan ABCD.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
There's lots of pivots happening. Yeah, this is Georgia Tierra Bassi,
DHL Motorsports track side manager.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
If I had to list what I do, I think
we would be here for hours.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
She's going to help us understand all of the logistics
that goes into the Formula one race we can.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
I know you're expecting me to be skeptical about this
week's topic, but I'm actually I'm all in great.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
I admit I didn't peg you as a logistics man.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
You know, I think it was US General Omar Bradley
who once said amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics. So yeah,
I hold that to be inherently true.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
I absolutely love that there we go. So there's a
lot of focus on Formula one that goes into drivers,
the speed, the money, the glitz, the glamor, and all
of that is true and all good and well. But
to me, truly, one of the things that astounds me
with this sport is the logistical component of it all.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah, I mean, you've described it, but I've also heard
other people describe it as a traveling circus. Help me
understand why that's true.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
There's nothing else like it. Really, there is nothing else
like Formula one logistically because of all the different components
that go into it. I mean we're talking about the
car is alone weigh two thousand pounds.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
This is Joe Pompiono.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Hi, Joe.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Joe's a banker turns sport expert. He loves everything that
has to do with the underbelly of the sports machine,
so finances the in this model, but also the logistical
efforts underlining it all.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
They're racing at top speeds of two hundred miles per hour.
The drivers are like movie stars relative to what's come
out over Netflix over the last few years and their popularity,
and it's just unlike anything else that we have in
sports today. And I think it's really challenging specifically because
it's really one of the only global sports that we have.
There are sports leagues that play in other places. There's
you know, European football teams that play friendlies in the US,
(04:25):
and even the NFL goes international. But Formula one is
global in its blood. It's everywhere. They travel every single
year to the same places all over the world, and
it makes it really challenging because it's not an asset
like business where you can just kind of pick yourself up,
fly over there and then do the event. You need
the cars, you need grand stands put up, you need
premium hospitality. You obviously need to bring hundreds of employees.
(04:47):
You have to have the motor homes set up and
the hospitality areas for the teams themselves, and that's really
challenging logistically because there's so many different moving parts.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
So remember when we talked about sponsorship a few episodes back,
and we talked about F one having official sponsors and
teams and drivers have their sponsorships and promoters have their sponsors. Well,
DHL has been one of the longest standing sponsors for
Formula one for over forty years, and DHL is one
of those sponsors that helps F one make sure that
they can put on this traveling circus.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
Yeah, DHL are the longest official partner of F one.
I'm not a Formula one fun I mean I like
the logistics behind it, but anything to do with Fromula one,
like drivers, teams and everything else, I kind of know
it because I'm working in it, so I have to
have a basic knowledge. Yeah, but I wouldn't define myself
(05:40):
as a Formula one fun if they ask me who
won after the race nine times after ten, I'm like,
no clue. I need to go on the internet and
check because I don't have the time to actually watch
the outcome. I need to focus on Okay, did they crash? Yes,
then I have to ship more frame.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
You are my dream expert who's just like, yeah, yeah,
Formula one, that's all good. Let's talk logistics.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
Yeah. The race is the only time we have where
it's quiet because everyone, of course is busy watching it,
so we don't get customer in the office. It's the
only two hours we have to catch up on emails
to relax a little bit, so we actually we use
that time to relax and catch up on anything we
(06:25):
haven't been able to do. I focus on air freight mainly,
but in our job, there is I mean, there is
nothing really you can focus on because we are track
side and we are the face of the company in
a way, so we need to know a bit of everything.
We have an office at the circuit in every single event,
(06:47):
so if there is an issue with any kind of
shipment air fhrase, see freight customs, anything, we have to
have the answer.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
The HL the shipping company, the.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Shipping company, that same company that a lot of people
complain about that loses their package.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Right. I don't even know what DHL stands for, but
thankfully there's internet connection here.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
No Google it for us or bring it for us.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I'm going to bring it for you guys. Let's guess
drove it here myself. I like that DHL acronym meaning.
Speaker 6 (07:21):
Gilblm put up a portion of his student loans to
start the company, bringing in his two friends, Adrian Dalcy
and Robert Lynn as partners. They shared a Plymouth duster
that they drove around San Francisco to pick up the
documents and suitcases. Then they would rush to the airport
where they booked flights using a relatively new invention, the
corporate credit card.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Dalzy, Hillblom and Lynn as expected, an American founded German
logistic company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service,
delivering over one point eight billion parcels per year. That's
what American founded German logistics. I'll tell you what when
it comes to logistics, the Germans, I'm I'm pro German.
(08:05):
There you go, when you say DHL sponsors. What does
that mean, like who's paying who here?
Speaker 3 (08:14):
So it's a bit of a mixture. And again the
numbers and the finances in F one always a bit opaque,
but I think on this one they probably look some
sponsors paying kind and what I mean by d is
they pay with the technology we mentioned Oracle, Aws, et cetera. Google,
they offer the tablets and all of that. I think
with this one there's a fair amount that DHL puts
(08:36):
up front. But also it's not because we're flying DHL
planes that Formula one doesn't actually pay for this, so
they're chartered planes and we'll get we'll get into the
n antiquity of that because the teams then have to
pay Formula one for spaces on that plane as well.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
I see.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
So there's a couple of layers to this.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
Jeez.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
They've been working with DHL, their their logistics and chipping
partner for forty years now, and DHL actually sends thirty
five dedicated specialist Formula one to every single race to
oversee it.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
So yeah, in total, we always have up to fifty
people on site at teach events.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
It's one of those things where they're obviously presenting sponsor
of the series. They get paid a lot of money
and they get a lot of value out of the
partnership that they have with Formula One. And this is
their gig right, this is their job, this is what
the company does, so they've obviously put a lot of
resources towards it to make sure that everything runs smoothly.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
We have got our air freight team, We've got C Freight,
We've got PADO Club, we have got our TV guys
who focus on the TV broadcasters. So everyone is a
specialist in something, but as well as they know how
to do everything, So we tend to have one team
that has got one specialist on each side, but overall
(09:47):
they can all cover each other's job. We all know
each other. We're all like a little village dealing with
the same people. You're just in a different country. So
it's like we were all a big team. Just move
in from A to B and BB to C. So
it does feel like a big family.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
So we used to have a much lighter calendar. And
actually that's another hot topic in this sport of people
saying we don't need I'm a big believer in that
that we don't actually need more races It used to
be that we had maybe twelve, sixteen, eighteen races in
the season, which meant that more or less between each
race weekend there was a week or two or three.
Now we're adding more and more races, the calendars getting
(10:27):
bigger and bigger, which means that we now have to
squish a lot of these races together, which means we
end up with double headers and sometimes triple headers.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
It's the nature of the business model, which is race
promoters paying extravagant fees for the traveling circus to come
to town, and they're really giving a lot of the
annual revenue to Formula One. It's the basis of their business.
And in other sports, if we want to talk about
American specifically, if you think about the NFL or the NBA,
or any of the major sports leagues here in the US,
that position of power is really with the media companies,
(10:56):
right It's with the ESPNS, the Fox, the CBS, those companies,
because they're the ones that are providing the most revenue
to the sports leagues. It's no secret if you look
at the NFL, they make about twenty billion dollars a
year in annual revenue, but about ten or eleven billion
of that is coming specifically from their media partners. So
there's this constant tug of war going on of like,
we're going to give you better games if you do this,
and vice versa. And I think that's the relationship in
(11:18):
Formula one that belongs with the race promoters because they're
the ones that are essentially I mean, if you look
at some of these races, they're paying upwards of fifty
million dollars every year for Formula one to come to
town for like three days, right, And that's obviously a
lot of money, especially when you break it down on
an annual basis per event. And I think that's the
reason why these race promoters have so much power. And
that's not to say that Liberty Media and Formula One
(11:38):
don't have power. I think that they just have to
kind of work together to figure out the best schedule,
and it's not always easy when you're moving twenty to
twenty five different partners around.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
In Unison, I think we are hitting the limit because
we keep adding and adding and adding, and you don't
realize that we have got one team of people that
are doing this race. So at the end of the day,
to ask a person that has got a life, that
wants to have a life to do even more races.
I mean it means a lot of days away from home.
(12:10):
From what I have seen, people are starting to complaining
now because it's I mean, you don't get any work
life balance. It's just work. It just never stops. I
mean sometimes it feels like we're shipping organs or I
mean we are saving lives, like your doctors saving lives.
The stress that you feel is enormous.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
This year, we're going to do Vegas and then we're
gonna go and fly in Abu Dhabi, which is insane
by the way, because it's a twenty five hour trip
from Vegas to Abu Dhabi and then there's eleven hour
time difference between the two, and then we're expecting these
drivers to drive.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
It's not safe.
Speaker 5 (12:45):
I actually tweeted something out last year when the NFL
traveled to Germany for their game, and there was a
huge debate about when the team should get there. I
forget who was. It was either the Dolphins or the
Chiefs that got there like three to four days before
the other team, And the argument was that if you're
not going to go a week early, you're better off
just going like two days early, because then your internal
clock is not going to be as messed up, and
(13:06):
by the time it reverts to that, you're moving back.
And I made a comment just kind of like a
throw away comment, essentially saying that it's really hard on
the body, and Formula one drivers have to do with this,
but the fact that you're getting hit, you know, makes
it that much harder. And I did that, and obviously
people got upset form of the one fan saying this
is a really physical sport. And I went back and
I hated that I did that because I'm not one
(13:27):
of those people that say Formula one isn't physical. It's
extremely physical, right. The g forces that you have in
certain corners and the toll that it takes on your body,
not only physically but mentally is really challenging. And I
think that's where jet lag comes in is I read
this quote. It was in the New York Times a
few years ago, and as a physio for one of
the teams, and they were essentially saying that what they
want to do is they want to get to a
location that they're going to race. If it's one hour
(13:47):
time difference, they want to get their one day ahead.
If it's three, they want to get their three days ahead.
And when you're racing in a time zone like Las
Vegas to Abu Dhabi, that's I don't know how long
ahead that is. It's probably like eight to ten hours
or something like that. That is extremely challenging, and it's impossible
because the race is actually only seven days beforehand. They
have families, they want to hang out at home, they
want these other things, so to do that. You've seen this.
I mean in Singapore, a lot of the drivers they're
(14:09):
completely inverting their schedule. Las Vegas was the same thing.
They're staying up until the early morning hours because quality
isn't taking place in some instances, or practiced till one
or two in the morning.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
We were having breakfast at four pm, lunch at midnight,
and dinner at like two am when we would get
back into the Hope. And you think, and I don't
need to get in a car and race and experience
the g forces and I'm already messed up.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
Yeah. I mean, the half of the drivers and the
team members probably don't even know what time it is
when they go to certain places, right, because it's just
it's like a blur and you're doing it for several
months at a time, and that's obviously difficult on the drivers.
They're the athletes that are performing, but I think one
of the most underrated parts is really how hard it
is on the team members too.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
In Las Vegas, we were starting at a three pm
and finishing at six am in the morning, so you
adapt to the actual schedule of the race. That is
another interesting part of the job. You just have to
work when you have to work, and it's like your
body adapts to it.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Also, these little boys can raise their little cars around
the track yep, yep today, heart's content.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
You get used to sleep when you can sleep, so
like like you have eight hours off, okay sleep, that's
I mean, it's just something that your body understand when
you have time to sleep, sleep, because any other time
you just have to do something, so you just you
learn to use the time you're given.
Speaker 5 (15:29):
In some instances, they're also away from their family for
months at a time. Right when the European schedule comes out,
it could be two months at in a row that
you're away from your family most of the week. So
that's really difficult. Not only them, but their families too,
if you have kids and other things like that. So
I think part of it's the driver's, part of it's
the teams, and it adds up to this just extremely
complicated scenario logistically that's almost impossible to solve. But they're
(15:50):
getting better at it each year.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Look, we all want to grow whatever sport we're talking about, yeah,
but they all get sucked into this idea football, baseball
of more and more and more, and it dilutes the
quality of the sport and it puts the athletes at risk.
Don't do it, and it's interesting. That's not what this
episode's about.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
No, but it's a fair point because one of the
arguments that I make all the time is not we're
diluting the championship. The less races there are, the more
important each race is towards the championship and the championship points.
The more races you add. The fact that we have
this year Maxwistappan who's won the championship and there was
what four or five races still to go, is an
interesting problem that we are in now.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
So it's a long flight to Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
It's a long flight, and.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Think about those special gloves with the monitors on them
at heart rate? What if that gets lost in the flight.
What if you just get a left glove.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
And that is part of the.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Then you'll only know what the athletes left hand heart rate.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Is the left. Yes, we're digressing.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Let's take a short logistical break here so we can
listen to some ads. So back from the ads. So
let me ask maybe a silly question, maybe a brilliant question.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
Sure it's a brilliant question.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
It wouldn't be so sure, honest alpine races they come in,
what are they usually coming? Fifteen sixteen? It depends. Okay,
it doesn't matter what midfield. Okay, midfield for the sake
of this question has no bearing on the question. Okay,
they pull into the paddock at the end. Where does
the actual physical car go?
Speaker 4 (17:26):
You will never see a full car. It's always in pieces.
The only time you see a car, it means it's
a show car. So it's not an actual car. It's
too sensitive to send it completely built, so it is
completely put in parts and sent as each individual item.
(17:46):
You will never see a car. You will only see
a box containing parts of the car.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
How much equipment are we talking here?
Speaker 5 (17:53):
You know.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
A couple of trucks, four or five trucks, Is it
just like the Formula one cars and they put a
little good track on top.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
And they can get there faster because they can go
so fast.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
The visual to that is pretty spectacular.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Would effect win track?
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Yes, yes, yes, Okay, if you want numbers, I have numbers.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Yes, they want numbers, okay.
Speaker 5 (18:18):
Fifteen hundred tons of equipment throughout the entire year and
they're traveling seventy five thousand miles.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
The DHL cargo travels in six or seven Boeing seven
four seven cargo planes.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
In Europe it is up to nearly four hundred trucks
for every race.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
If you had too much time on your hands and
you wanted to put each of these trucks one in
front of the other, they would make a convoy longer
than five kilometers.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
They're not all the HL trucks. The teams have got
their own hospitality trucks and garages which are all rended.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Each team ships the equivalent weight of eight elephants per race.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
How many kangaroos is that?
Speaker 6 (18:54):
Michael assuming Tony is referring to an average African male
elephant and Michael has in mind the male red kangaroo.
The answer would be one thousand and three hundred kangaroos
worth of freight per team per race.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
Over a season, the teams will ship six hundred and
sixty tons of air freight and five hundred tons of
sea freight.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
But what's that on elephants?
Speaker 3 (19:18):
You know, it's funny that you as I have the
number in elephants. That's the equivalent of one hundred and
sixty five elephants. I think that's all the stats that
I have for you related to logistics.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
I weigh roughly point zero one five of an elephant.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
That's not too bad.
Speaker 5 (19:35):
One of the more interesting parts is actually the kits
at the beginning of the season. So again everything's loaded
up on maybe two, three or four cars that are
going to European races and driving to each other. Most
of the equipment feels fits on there, excluding the motor homes,
which are obviously a little bit bigger need to be
on bigger trucks. But when we talk about flyaway races,
all of that equipment is mostly transported. That isn't the
cars and other things on these kits that are sent
(19:56):
at the beginning of the year.
Speaker 4 (19:57):
They have got between five to sik set and they
can rotate them in between races and they can cover
the whole year.
Speaker 5 (20:06):
And I think that logistically is one of the more
challenging parts because those are happening in elite frog positions. Right,
They're not only going to Zanvor and then going back
to the factory. They're going to Miami. But instead of
going back to the factory, they're staying on the road
for another three months, and they're being transported to Austin,
to Las Vegas, to Canada, to Mexico and other places
in the same area.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
What part of this job do you sit back and go,
I can't believe we pull this off.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
This makes nose, I would say, what is chocking me
every week is how quickly everything is part done and
moved because you wouldn't even imagine it.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Do you have any idea when they start packing up,
for example after race? Yeah, like right after the race,
do you think there's like a day to.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
Like, let me tell let me tell you how the
Daily Show does it? Okay, Okay, So we go to
Atlanta last year for four shows and Thursday the show
ends at eight thirty one pm and they start packing
up at eight thirty two pm, Like before you're even
done finishing, they're taking the lights down. I would assume
that F one is that time's a bit bazillion.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
It's very close to that. They actually the moment the
cars hit the track, they already are.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
They're already doing it.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
While the race is happening, everyone is focused on the
race itself. Everything else is moving and you don't see
what's happening because you're focusing on the race. But in
the meantime, everything else is being parked because a few
hours afterwards everything has to leave. So it is just
crazy how it takes maybe three four days to set
(21:37):
it up and a few hours to pack it crazy
and unless you are on site, you just don't realize
how quickly that happens.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
It's not uncommon for the entire F one presence to
be completely gone eight hours after the Grand Prix is finished,
like everyone's just disappeared, which is kind of crazy.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
It's like a one night stand right.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Here, and then you're not and.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Then you're gone, just longing, just.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Just gone on the bedside table.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
Miss me and I'm gone.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
When do we go by boat? When do we go
by plane. Okay, when do we drive? When is it horseback?
Speaker 5 (22:26):
No?
Speaker 2 (22:26):
What what mode of transport are we using? And why
you can't go Vegas Abu Dhabi on a truck?
Speaker 5 (22:31):
No you can't, Right, So it depends on how much
time you have in between certain events. Right. So the
kits that I talk about, those will move on boats
because you have several months before you need them, and
then once they get to Miami or Brazil or wherever
they're going, then they'll be transported on cars to the
next races from there. But things that would go on
a plane would be the cars themselves or things that
(22:52):
you need to get there immediately.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
The air freight is normally the most valuable items, which
is normally like what is extremely sensitive? Yeah, it cannot
be replicated. It's one set only, and that goes air freight.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
A lot of like the general equipment we'll call it carjacks, tables, chairs,
things like that will already be there because it'll be
on one of the kits. But obviously the cars need
to get there, so that will go on a plane
and other like immediate things that could be necessary that
you don't necessarily want to put on a kit several
months before that you're going to use at the actual
race that are either expensive like the cars or extra
(23:27):
engines or things like that will be transported via plane.
And the trucks are really just used for the European races,
so those are things that will transport everything from the
cars to the engines, to the tables and the chairs
and everything in between.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Right.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Of course, an influence is also the costs. Of course,
air freight is more expensive than sea fraight. So what
they're trying to do because of the cost cup is
they're trying to send as much as they can sea
freight because it's cheaper to send it sea freight than
air freight.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
So at any given time, there are ships and planes
with f one cargo going around the world. Only imagine
plopping all of this up on a map is pretty insane.
They but for the flyaway races, they divide the cargo
into really important crucial equipment and then the stuff that
can go slow that we also have four five different
(24:14):
packs the same version of the same stuff.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Then it's going to land in a port and run
through customs.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Customs.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
I mean, I've like in my little comedy world, I
get hung up performing in Canada because I got to
go through their like tax department, you know, and then
it's like now I'm in the States. And then they
go to Australia and it's like this is just me
and I can only imagine it's insane.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
I don't think there's a single story where a race
couldn't start because the cargo didn't arrive. But there are
many stories of just like riots have broken out in
a country, or there's a canal that's been blocked because
lots of and so all the ships are being waited,
and at that point they will take a snap decision
and go, well, the cargo that we were sending to
another location, let's dock it, let's put it on a
(24:56):
plane and get it back here fast. And so you
have these insane decisions that come up those moments because
the world is what it is and certain things that
we can't control.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Yeah, I think this year a race was canceled because
of a flood, Right.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
There's not a flood. Tire amphibious vehicles, those things are sweet.
There's your kids ever do those?
Speaker 7 (25:15):
It's gonna turn on the propellor.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
He's gonna hold lord and we're gonna quaggle.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
Lot it roll. I think one of the craziest things
to me is the motor homes at.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
The European races, which makes sense if you've ever gone
camping versus taking a plane trip, you can take a
lot more with you. So those motor homes that you're
talking about, they aren't much bigger and is more to
build because they bring more at the European races.
Speaker 5 (25:46):
And specifically Red Bulls. Red Bull is famous that they
bring their motor home to Monaco and they've stood it
in the bay, right, And what they do is they
literally bring it to the bay and they construct it.
It takes twenty five crew members thirty six hours to
assemble it and one day to take it down. They
put it on a barge and they bring it to Monaco, right,
they float it down the Italian Riviera, which I think
is just absolutely amazing, and it speaks to the lengths
(26:10):
that these teams will go to to make sure that
everything's set up. Because part of what we have to
remember here is that most of Formula one revolves around sponsorships, right,
certainly at the lower level teams, the majority of their
income is coming through sponsorships, and maybe a little bit
less called forty percent of their income is coming through
sponsorships at the high level teams, but these teams are
making you know, hundreds of millions of dollars in some
cases from sponsorships each year. So entertaining those sponsors in
(26:34):
places like the paddock club or in the motor homes
themselves is especially important to the income and the business
of these teams. So Red Bull certainly takes it seriously.
Mercedes Ferraris and a bunch of these teams take it
really seriously because they know that if people come to
the races, they have fun, in some cases, they're going
to spend more money with the team next year, or
it could sell a sponsorship in the future. And that's
(26:55):
a huge reason why Formula one kind of gets this
reputation for just being this luxurious, you know, sporting event
where there's champagne and there's caviare and there's lobster and
there's all these things. And I think part of the
reason why that's true in some cases is because they're
entertaining corporate partners that are paying tens of millions of
dollars annually to make sure that everything runs smoothly.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Yo, Hi, this is when you would play my stand
up my stand up comedy joke on my special about
packing for driving versus packing for flying.
Speaker 7 (27:28):
When you fly somewhere, you really think about packing. You know,
you talk it out with each other. We stuff things
in the shoes. That's a good spot. But if you're
driving somewhere, Brillian, bring it. We're driving, brigand.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
Honey. Should I bring the blender?
Speaker 5 (27:49):
Yes?
Speaker 7 (27:52):
I may want to make fresh tomato soup this weekend.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
What about the treadmill? It's already packed. We're driving.
Speaker 7 (28:00):
We're driving, person your see fill twelve of you ride?
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Does there happen to be I don't know a fun fact.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
I feel like Mary Poppins going in my bag. Now,
give me a fun fact.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
Give me a fun fact.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
There's a rule now that states that when the team
crates are placed on the pit lane of any venue,
that's when they all arrives. Teams are not allowed to
access their team crates until every single team has received
all of their cargo.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Love this, like fence. Love this.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
And the reason I think why every team is on
board with this is you just never know what could
happen to you, and if it could be you so
I think that's pretty cool. It's both but it's also
a safety and security thing as well, that you can't
have one team upfloading stuff well and other team's not
doing anything, because then those people are probably hanging around
on the pit lane and all the pitwalk and they
shouldn't be there.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
And I also love that F one with all of
its data and game strategy and logistics, they all just
agree like sometimes they fuck up your luggage, so we're
all just gonna wait, like even like they're there's so
in control of everything, and but they're still just like,
look as if at a fairness. I thinks I love
(29:16):
this rule.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
And it's even if there's like two or three shipments,
like you wait until everyone, which I think is a
nice role. I do that now with my husband when
we both order something and we're both waiting for it,
we will open up our packages when we've both seen.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
That, oh that's not what I did.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Won't be doing that.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
We're at a point in my family where if your
food's ready, you eat it. You you know, but I'm
I don't. I'm hoping we also change that eventually. But
with we have kids, two little kids, it's just like
you eat when you can eat.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
We're hoping that everyone in F one is adults at
this point.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
I would love it if we could hire an F
one logistician at our house, like one, because that would
help me manage my life tire as well to its
full capacity. Let's keep moving moving. One of the attributes
that I'm really enjoying this season, okay, of learning about
F one is this cooperative competitiveness. Tennis has this a lot,
(30:15):
Like you end up having to practice oftentimes with someone
who might be your opponent because you have to and
both parties are like, we're both in this town or
country together, we need to practice. Or you split a
hotel room with someone that's in the draw. You might
play that person. But I'm really enjoying learning how F
one has some of that cooperation.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Yeah, I must be the same, and I imagine answer
this for me. They're practicing amongst themselves because there's no
one else that's better than the coming.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Right, you can only practice with so many people. I
like that, all right, So what's being moved? The cars?
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Everything?
Speaker 2 (30:54):
The wheels, does PERELLI take the wheels, the gloves.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
Absolutely everything you see and that is used during a
race weekend is most likely being transported.
Speaker 4 (31:05):
Apart from the circuited cell. Yeah, that's the only thing
that that.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Sense because the circuit doesn't actually belong to Formula one.
It actually belongs to the promoters. So that's not going anywhere.
Even think about even like we talked about all the data,
there's data storage systems and data servers that are being
moved as well. There's cable that's being moved like that list.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
There's a guy with a handcuff on a briefcase that's
got the hard drives.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
Never met him. Oh you want a fun fact? Yeah,
so want of fun fact doesn't involve a guy with
a briefcase and handcuffs, but it does involve a guy
called the f one tailor with a backpack. There is
one guy that walks up and down the paddock who
is sole job and only responsibility is to tailor anything
that any of the drivers need, whether it's their gloves,
(31:54):
the suit anything. There's a fantastic story that I was
told by one of the team's last see about Fernando Alonso.
The way they they work with very specific manufacturers and
very specific teams. The people who do the under garments,
the people who do the race suits and everything is
tailored to absolutely an inch of their lives. And the
person who had been doing Alonzo's gloves for many, many
(32:17):
years changed and apparently Alonzo when he tried on his gloves,
he was like, this doesn't feel right. What's happened? And
they said, oh, we've got to do it, and He's like,
I can feel it, and so I'm going to need
a few jass the changes. So there is there isn't
a guy with a briefcase, but there's a guy with
a backpack who's called the tailor, who gets called into
whenever any of the drivers need a bit of tailoring.
(32:37):
That's call job.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
There's an a called tailor for these drivers.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
You know there's a guy in New York. Yeah that
you probably know this. YOHI Endzoltan. There's a guy in
New York who twenty four hour emergency phone will saw
your couch in half? Wait what then move it because
it won't fit in your apartment. In New York City,
people have a huge problem of their couches won't You
(33:02):
can get in the apartment, but you can't get in
the building or in the elevator. Called the couch doctor.
He'll saw your couch in half and then move it
upstairs for you and then reassemble it for you.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
Yes, I just had a situation with a puppy.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
You'll saw the puppy and half.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Quickly give us the rest of that story.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
No, I mean the point. I'm just gonna go right
to the point here. But if you guys need to
have a really good and I think you know, not cheap,
but like you know, you get your money's worth couch
cleaner yea, if anybody needs so, yeah, yeah it's not.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
Let's talk about my favorite part of logistics when it
comes to anything which involves large groups and travel. Carrots food, yes, close,
but yes, carrots. Like if you're if if Lance Stroll
loves his carrot and he's in Las Vegas and they're
(34:00):
going to Abu Dhabi, Like, is someone going grocery shopping
in Abu Dhabi? Is they bring it's just caviar? Sorry
but bad example, but catering food? Like, how is all
this happening? Someone's in charge of this, Someone is in
charge of the food.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
You've actually absolutely there's someone in charge of the food.
And you've probably just named one of the few things
that doesn't really travel with the flyaway races, so catering
is mostly organized on site. Also, things like you mentioned,
like the amount of people moving, like things like booking
hotel rooms, cars, even internet connectivities, all stuff that's generally
(34:35):
done on site. You know, they're not creating motor homes
for all of these people. They are maybe for the
drivers and the direct teams in European races, but in
flyaway races, this is all stuff that's left to what
happens when we land out.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
But what about the like data cables.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
Data cables I think is a mixture. I think the
teams have the cables and the connectivity that they need
for their own screens. But then, as with there anythinking
F one, there's the stuff that the f I needs
to govern that race. There's the stuff that Formula one
needs to put on the race and run f on
TV and all of that, and then it's all of
the stuff that every team needs.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
It has to be perfect, it has to be perfect.
Mix CHAMPI slow like oh you know Vegas, their internet's
a little slow, Like what's the password? Like, it's got
to be perfect, it's got to be perfect.
Speaker 4 (35:22):
There are days where you just can't keep up. You
just hate it because the stress is a lot, the
deadlines are just unbelievable. But when you see that it's
a team efforts. So when we all work together as
a team, which we just learn to understand each other well,
learn when is the right moment to ask something, to
do something, well, learn when it's the right moment. Maybe
(35:45):
just avoid any additional stress. So it becomes in a way,
a little family where you all know how to deal
with each other and you know how to make it work. So,
I mean you can actually see that by working as
a team, we make it happen. And regardless of how
(36:09):
much we may argue and fight in between, at the
end of the day, we have made it happen together.
So every single individual has done something to make it happen.
And that's what makes it rewarding at the end, because
on Sunday night, after every race, you can see that
your effort have made it happen.
Speaker 2 (36:28):
So there's boats, Yeah, there's planes.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
Explains six to seven planes.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
There's trucks. None of this sounds good for the climate
or environment.
Speaker 5 (36:38):
It's probably not. I think it's not up to me
to decide. Probably where Formula one is on their net
carbon neutral promise, but they've obviously made that and it's
something that I know that they're serious about. So we'll
leave it up to Liberty Media and Formula one to
give us some numbers in the near future about what
progress they've made on that, and hopefully we're at least
trending in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
I don't want to come across as snooty because this
is a competitive sport. It's all gratuitous and you know,
we don't need to have ye so there is an
acceptability of like the stuff costs money and costs resources,
but f one it seems a little bit over the top,
(37:21):
like maybe we could do a better job.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
These other times where I really miss Sebastian Vettel because
he was so good at talking about I absolutely realized
that I race in the sport that guzzles fuel as
we travel around the world, and at the same time
I'm campaigning to save the bees because we need to
save the environment. And he has such an.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Edgy campaign to save the bees.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
He bought bees this year to Japan and built opponent's helmets.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
They were on the track, they had.
Speaker 3 (37:50):
These like little bee hives on the track. That they
were like painting. I don't know if the bees were
actually on track, but the beehives one track, but maybe
the bees were there too be meet up. But he's
so eloquent at talking about both things can be true,
like this is a sport that's constantly you know, we
have to do.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
Better, because that could also be seen as like rich
pro athlete is so out of touch so with reality.
But you're saying he did it in the right way.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
He did it and I these are not my words,
but one of the people who used to work very
closely with him explained it this way, like he is
middle class, white sis married man, and yet he always
campaigned for all of the right things. He always found time.
He's the last person who needed to campaign for LGTBQ rights,
(38:37):
He's the last person who needed to campaign for eco friendliness.
He's the last person who needed to campaign for you know,
equality and diversity, and yet he was always there and
he still is. I only say that as he's no
longer in the sport and left last year, But he
had such a good way of saying, I have to
be comfortable driving and being in this sport and also
(38:57):
doing good in the world. One doesn't take away from
the other as long as you're conscious and willing to
have And look, here's the amazing thing about him is
he had those conversations under the Aramcobana and got very
comfortable at doing that.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
In the world of Sebastian Vettel, the B and LGBTQ
was b's.
Speaker 3 (39:21):
So, Michael, final thoughts. Are you a logistics fan?
Speaker 2 (39:24):
I am a logistics fan. I'm impressed and I don't
know if it's going to make me turn on a
race to know that all this school logistics is happening.
But to even just watch Su Paulo, Vegas Abu Dhabi,
it just blows your mind that it's the same teams
(39:45):
and the same drivers in such a different part of
the world. It blows my mind. And you know, there's
like a wife that's like, how's Abu Dhabi this week?
And he's like, it's actually I'm in Vegas. You know,
it's like, oh, well, whatever, I don't give a.
Speaker 3 (39:56):
Shit, you're not here.
Speaker 6 (39:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
Exactly what you've helped me appreciate is when I'm watching
the race, there was just so many factors that made
this race happen, much like me getting here today, with you,
blessing you. You said you were blessed?
Speaker 3 (40:14):
What was the existence?
Speaker 2 (40:15):
What'd you say it was? We as we all feel blessed.
We all feel blessed watching F one race, knowing all
the things that needed to happen to make that happens.
Bless you.
Speaker 1 (40:36):
This has been Choosing Sides F one, a production of
Sports Illustrated Studios, iHeart Podcasts and one oh one Studio Podcasts.
The show is hosted by Michael Costa and Tony Cowen Brown.
This episode was edited, scored, and sound designed by Senior
producer Jai Maythan Scott Stone is the executive producer and
(41:00):
head of audio, and Daniel Wexman is Director of podcast
Development and production manager at One on one Studios. At
iHeart Podcasts, Sean Titone is our executive producer. And a
special thank you to Michelle Newman, David Glasser, and David
Hootkin from One on one Studios. For more shows from
iHeart Podcasts, go visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or
(41:26):
wherever you get your podcasts, and whatever you do, don't
forget to rate us and tell your friends it really
does mean a lot.
Speaker 3 (41:46):
So next week, I'm Choosing sides f one, the gossip.
What is Formula one without the literati? The gossip, the scandal,
the drama. It's going to be salacious watching and Hi inappropriate.
Speaker 2 (42:01):
Let's get down there we go.
Speaker 3 (42:03):
We will have the awkward celebrity moments, we will propagate
unsubstantiated rumors, and we will have a pandemic of luxury.
Watch feels cool.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
Can't wait? Talk about that shit.
Speaker 3 (42:13):
Let's go, oh dear,
Host
Michael Kosta
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