Formula 1 teams scramble to get to Melbourne amid Middle East conflict
“From our event perspective, everyone who needs to come here has their flights confirmed or changed as necessary and no impact to our event is anticipated,” he told this imprint.
Auld said he expected all drivers and teams to be in Melbourne “pretty much” by Wednesday and there would be no impact on practice times.
Some staff have already arrived, unaffected by any travel disruptions.
“There are already some drivers in Australia,” Auld said. “There are already some team members in Australia, but there are a lot of team members in the UK and across Europe in general who needed to come here, but they had to find another way.”
This imprint contacted the FIA and individual teams but at the time of publication only Audi and Alpine had responded.
An Audi spokesman said the team was not concerned about any logistics or safety issues en route to Melbourne and would arrive on schedule.
The spokesman said Audi was “in close contact with F1 and the FIA” and was “following their guidance” on international travel.
“It won’t have any impact whatsoever on the race or the event… I’m not exactly sure what that looks like for every team in F1, but I know they’ll be there in terms of delivering the event.”
Travis Auld
Alpine did not want to comment on the team’s specific travel details but confirmed they had to deviate from their usual route to Australia.
The majority of F1 drivers live in Europe; technicians, engineers, mechanics and communications personnel are scattered all over the world.
Auld said Melbourne Airport had “incredibly cooperated” with F1 teams to get them on track despite the conflict in the Middle East.
“It was a process for them,” he said. “I’m sure a lot of work has been done on their behalf…we’ll see them all arrive on time.”
Auld said the information he had received from F1 was that everyone who was supposed to be in Melbourne would be here for the race.
Drivers were able to complete their pre-season testing period in Bahrain in mid-February.Credit: Getty Images
“There will be no impact whatsoever on the race or event,” he said. “I’m not exactly sure what that looks like for every team in F1, but I know they’ll be there in terms of delivering the event.”
Most F1 teams are headquartered in the UK, with the constructors’ championship based in McLaren Woking, Mercedes at Brackley, Red Bull at Milton Keynes and Aston Martin at Silverstone.
The majority of Ferrari’s staff is based in Maranello, Italy; The new team Cadillac has a base in North Carolina and Silverstone.
Almost all of the 22 F1 drivers on the grid, team principals and retired drivers live in Monaco, one of the smallest countries in the world.
Bahrain, which was directly affected by the conflicts and whose airspace is now closed, hosts Formula 1’s pre-season tests.
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Testing for the teams took place from 11 to 20 February, but additional wet weather development tests were planned from 28 February to 1 March.
Pirelli, the official tire supplier of Formula 1, canceled the tests planned to be held in Bahrain, citing safety and security concerns of its staff.
Dennis Bunnik, co-CEO of Adelaide-based travel agency Bunnik Tours, said land travel to Saudi Arabia would be required before any flights.
“Saudi airspace is open,” Bunnik said. “So if they can get into Saudi Arabia, then they can fly from Saudi Arabia through Southeast Asia. [to arrive in Australia].
“If they can’t get from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia, they will actually have to wait for the airspace to open, so that will definitely affect Formula 1.”
Popular Australian motorsport photographer Kym Illman shared on Instagram that many F1 teams from the UK and Europe are finding alternative routes via Asian ports to reach Melbourne.
He said plane prices have increased.
“Each team is expecting over 100 staff/crew in Melbourne and it is currently estimated that a quarter of that number have arrived; the others should be delivered between now and Thursday,” Illman said in the post.
While Auld and motorsport’s governing body the FIA have reassured fans that there will be no impact on the Australian Grand Prix, the rest of the F1 calendar currently looks uncertain.
The fourth and fifth races on the Formula 1 calendar will be held in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia on 12 and 19 April. The penultimate and final races in the sport are held in Qatar and Abu Dhabi respectively
An F1 spokesperson told Forbes and ESPN F1 are monitoring the situation as it develops.
“Our next three races will not be in the Middle East but in Australia, China and Japan; these races will not last for a few weeks.”
“As always, we monitor such situations closely and work closely with the relevant authorities.”
with Chris Zappone
