How Formula 1 Packs Up, Flies, and Rebuilds an Entire City in 72 Hours
Every race weekend, Formula 1 stages one of the most complex logistical operations in global sport. Something that rivals military deployment and major music festivals. What fans see on Sunday is the product of thousands of people, hundreds of tons of equipment, and a choreography precise enough that the entire structure can vanish and reappear halfway across the world in just 72 hours. F1 does not just travel, it moves a whole city.
By Sunday night of a race weekend, just minutes after the podium celebrations wrap, teardown begins. Teams work through the night, stripping the garages, disassembling the pit wall gantries, packing up spare parts, tools, electronics, and hospitality units. Each team transports roughly 50-60 tons of equipment, but the essentials, such as chassis, engines, and critical technical systems, travel on priority pallets to land early at the next circuit. The rest follows in waves.
This is where Formula 1’s global freight network comes into play. The championship relies on a mix of air and sea freight, supported by DHL, which coordinates cargo across continents. For flyaway races, equipment is sorted into standardized containers designed to fit the cargo holds of Boeing 777s and 747s. These containers are pre-labeled and color-coded to ensure that the most time-sensitive items reach the next paddock first. A typical double-header, such as Japan to Qatar or Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi, can require up to nine dedicated cargo flights.
Meanwhile, other parts of the team go to the next location ahead of time. F1 employs staff who arrive at the next venue before the previous race even starts. They begin constructing the paddock infrastructure: hospitality buildings, media centers, TV compounds, and race control. These structures are temporary, but they’re engineered to the standards of permanent facilities, complete with kitchens, offices, and broadcast networks. For the biggest races like Miami or Singapore, the paddock becomes a miniature town with its own power grid, IT systems, and climate-controlled meeting rooms.
By Wednesday, freight begins arriving at the new location. Teams work around the clock to rebuild garages, calibrate equipment, and assemble the cars. Everything must be operational for Thursday’s media day, leaving almost no margin for error. One delayed pallet can derail an entire team’s preparation.
Despite its scale, the system rarely fails. F1’s ability to effectively dismantle and reconstruct itself 23 times a year is a logistical marvel. It showcases the sport’s hidden backbone: precision, coordination, and a global workforce. All of which perform at a championship level long before the lights go out on Sunday.
