Formula 1 teams are scrambling to access key racing components stuck in the Middle East due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Iran conflict, City AM can reveal.
The regional tensions have already caused both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix to be postponed, and potentially cancelled, leaving a gaping hole in the Formula 1 calendar between next week’s race in Japan and May’s feature contest in Miami.
And the closure of key global shipping route the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian regime, combined with airline trepidation over operations in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, has led to some Formula 1 teams having freight stuck on the ground.
Some of this may have been from the pre-season tests in the Kingdom of Bahrain, while other freight could have been caught up in traffic trying to divert from the Middle East once the races were cancelled.
Insiders at one team, who did not want to be named, confirmed to City AM that they had been affected, while others are understood to have been hit too.
Formula 1’s freight issue
A former F1 team boss explained how the process usually works. “We would probably have sent freight to Australia and then separate freight to the Middle East,” they said. “They may even have left stuff there from the Bahrain tests.
“It’s not an easy logistical piece for them to manage, but Formula 1 knows how to operate in these kinds of scenarios and it adjusts pretty rapidly.”
Formula 1 plans to return to the Middle East later in the season, with races slated for Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in late November and early December.
And it could return sooner should the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races be rescheduled rather than cancelled. Teams are, however, navigating ways to get their freight – by air or sea – out of the region.
Issues for months?
Senior logistics economist at ING Rico Luman warned that the delays could also hit fan attendances in the winter.
“No one really knows how long the Middle East crisis is going to drag on,” he said, “but fans may be reluctant to book for the end of the year – and some may even already face cancellations to attend the past events. In that sense it may also affect the business around the races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
“We have seen the cancellations of the events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia of course but in general the Middle East – and airports like Dubai and Doha – are also an important global connection point for freight as well, especially to and from Australia and South-East Asia.
“Currently, an estimated 20 per cent of global capacity is grounded, so there may be limitations in instant freighter availability.
“Most Formula 1 equipment travels through the air to get it to the next location in time. But non-critical equipment also travels by sea. Some containerised equipment may have been underway already and affected by disruption in Shipping in general. Freight bound for the region is often discharged elsewhere, which could affect further planning of shipments down into the year.”
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