0:00

Hmm.

0:00

Should we do comedy, as we say

0:02

in the biz, let's do comedy, all right,

0:05

ready, Tony

0:13

Michael. Do you have any idea

0:15

what it took just for me to

0:18

be here in the studio with you today?

0:20

You know I do not. I have a feeling

0:22

you're about to tell me.

0:23

Well, I'm gonna tell you. Okay, Okay. I got

0:26

up, I put on my shoes, I took the sea

0:28

train, I stopped at the cafe on the corner

0:30

here, great coffee by the way, I took the elevator,

0:33

and here I am.

0:34

That seems pretty straightforward.

0:35

Well that's the thing. It's anything but straightforward.

0:37

Okay.

0:38

Think about the amount of logistics

0:41

happening in the background to get me here

0:43

today. I'm talking train conductors,

0:45

policemen, barristas, coffee farmers,

0:48

dorman, elevator technicians. When

0:50

you think about it, it's a logistical miracle

0:53

that I'm here with you today.

0:54

Well, I surely

0:56

feel blessed.

0:59

For my heart pots one on one studios

1:01

and Sports Illustrated studios.

1:03

This is choosing sides, yes,

1:08

one wow

1:11

wow. Someone

1:16

once told me there's no plan B when

1:19

it comes to logistics. You know, we joke

1:21

about Ferrari's plan A, B, C, D, E, F

1:23

G, And they'll say, well, what's interesting is in logistics

1:25

there's no plan B. Plan A has to work,

1:27

those freights have to make it to

1:30

the destination on time. Is that

1:32

true?

1:33

I mean, I think it would be wrong to say there is no

1:35

plan B because in

1:37

a way, there never is a

1:39

plan. It's constantly evolving. So

1:42

we start with Plan A at the beginning of

1:44

the season and we end up with Plan Z

1:46

in a few months, because it's just everything

1:49

happens. I mean, we had COVID, we had strikes,

1:51

we have wars, we have weather, we have pandemics,

1:54

we had I mean we saw that

1:56

literally the moment we said, okay, what next,

1:59

what else can happen? Something else

2:01

was happening, happening, So we thought COVID and

2:04

the pandemic was the worst

2:06

moment of our life. Now even worse.

2:08

Yeah, So I think we become expert

2:11

of dealing with issues, of finding

2:14

solution to a problem, and we

2:16

always get to a plan in

2:18

the end and we make it happen.

2:21

But to get to that make it happen,

2:24

we change multiple times.

2:27

So I mean I would

2:29

say, yes, we always make it happen. But to

2:31

get there, there are a lot of plan ABCD.

2:34

There's lots of pivots happening. Yeah, this

2:36

is Georgia Tierra Bassi, DHL Motorsports

2:39

track side manager.

2:40

If I had to list what I do, I

2:42

think we would be here for hours.

2:44

She's going to help us understand all

2:46

of the logistics that goes into the

2:49

Formula one race we can.

2:50

I know you're expecting me to be skeptical about

2:52

this week's topic, but I'm actually I'm all

2:54

in great.

2:56

I admit I didn't peg you as

2:58

a logistics man.

2:59

You know, I think it was US

3:02

General Omar Bradley who once

3:04

said amateurs talk

3:06

strategy, professionals talk

3:08

logistics. So yeah, I

3:12

hold that to be inherently true.

3:14

I absolutely love that there

3:16

we go. So there's a lot

3:18

of focus on Formula one that goes

3:20

into drivers, the speed, the money, the glitz,

3:22

the glamor, and all of that is true and

3:25

all good and well. But to me, truly,

3:27

one of the things that astounds me with

3:29

this sport is the logistical component

3:32

of it all.

3:32

Yeah, I mean, you've described it, but I've also heard other

3:34

people describe it as a traveling circus. Help

3:37

me understand why that's

3:39

true.

3:39

There's nothing else like it. Really, there is nothing

3:41

else like Formula one logistically

3:44

because of all the different components that go into

3:46

it. I mean we're talking about the car is alone

3:48

weigh two thousand pounds.

3:49

This is Joe Pompiono.

3:51

Hi, Joe.

3:51

Joe's a banker turns sport expert.

3:54

He loves everything that has

3:56

to do with the underbelly of the sports machine,

3:58

so finances the in this model, but

4:00

also the logistical efforts

4:03

underlining it all.

4:04

They're racing at top speeds of two hundred miles per hour.

4:06

The drivers are like movie stars relative

4:08

to what's come out over Netflix over the last few years

4:10

and their popularity, and it's

4:12

just unlike anything else that we have in sports today.

4:14

And I think it's really challenging specifically because

4:17

it's really one of the only global sports

4:19

that we have. There are sports leagues that play

4:21

in other places. There's you know, European

4:23

football teams that play friendlies in the US, and

4:25

even the NFL goes international. But Formula

4:28

one is global in its blood. It's everywhere.

4:30

They travel every single year to the same places

4:32

all over the world, and it makes it really challenging

4:35

because it's not an asset like business where you can

4:37

just kind of pick yourself up, fly over

4:39

there and then do the event. You need the cars,

4:41

you need grand stands put up, you need

4:43

premium hospitality. You obviously need to

4:45

bring hundreds of employees. You have

4:47

to have the motor homes set up and the hospitality areas

4:50

for the teams themselves, and that's really challenging

4:53

logistically because there's so many different

4:55

moving parts.

4:56

So remember when we talked about sponsorship

4:58

a few episodes back, and we talked about

5:00

F one having official sponsors and teams

5:02

and drivers have their sponsorships and promoters

5:05

have their sponsors. Well, DHL has

5:07

been one of the longest standing sponsors for

5:09

Formula one for over forty years, and

5:11

DHL is one of those sponsors that helps

5:13

F one make sure that they can put on this traveling

5:16

circus.

5:16

Yeah, DHL are the longest official

5:19

partner of F one. I'm not a

5:21

Formula one fun I mean I like the

5:23

logistics behind it, but

5:26

anything to do with Fromula one, like drivers,

5:28

teams and everything else, I

5:30

kind of know it because I'm working in

5:33

it, so I have to have

5:36

a basic knowledge. Yeah, but I

5:38

wouldn't define myself as a Formula

5:40

one fun if they ask me who

5:42

won after the race nine

5:45

times after ten, I'm like, no clue.

5:47

I need to go on the internet and check

5:49

because I don't have the time to

5:52

actually watch the outcome. I need

5:55

to focus on Okay, did they crash?

5:57

Yes, then I have to ship more frame.

5:59

You are my dream expert who's

6:01

just like, yeah, yeah, Formula one, that's all good.

6:03

Let's talk logistics.

6:05

Yeah. The race is the only time

6:07

we have where it's

6:09

quiet because everyone, of course is busy watching

6:12

it, so we don't get customer in the office. It's

6:14

the only two hours we have to catch

6:17

up on emails to

6:19

relax a little bit, so we

6:21

actually we use that time to relax

6:24

and catch up on anything we haven't been able to

6:26

do. I focus on air freight mainly,

6:29

but in our job, there

6:31

is I mean, there is nothing

6:33

really you can focus on because we

6:35

are track side and we

6:38

are the face of the company in a way,

6:40

so we need to know a bit

6:42

of everything. We have an office at the circuit

6:45

in every single event, so

6:47

if there is an issue with any

6:49

kind of shipment air

6:52

fhrase, see freight customs, anything,

6:55

we have to have the answer.

6:56

The HL the shipping company, the.

6:58

Shipping company, that same company that a lot

7:00

of people complain about that loses their package.

7:03

Right. I don't even know what DHL stands

7:05

for, but thankfully there's internet connection here.

7:07

No Google it for us or bring it for us.

7:09

I'm going to bring it for you guys. Let's

7:12

guess

7:14

drove it

7:16

here myself. I like

7:18

that DHL acronym

7:20

meaning.

7:21

Gilblm put up a portion of his student loans

7:23

to start the company, bringing in

7:25

his two friends, Adrian Dalcy and Robert

7:27

Lynn as partners. They

7:29

shared a Plymouth duster that they drove around

7:32

San Francisco to pick up the documents and suitcases.

7:34

Then they would rush to the airport where they booked

7:37

flights using a relatively new invention, the

7:39

corporate credit card.

7:43

Dalzy, Hillblom and Lynn as expected,

7:49

an American founded German logistic

7:51

company providing courier, package delivery

7:53

and express mail service, delivering over one point

7:56

eight billion parcels per year. That's

7:58

what American founded German logistics.

8:01

I'll tell you what when it comes to logistics, the

8:03

Germans, I'm I'm pro German. There

8:06

you go, when

8:10

you say DHL sponsors. What does

8:13

that mean, like who's paying who here?

8:14

So it's a bit of a mixture. And

8:17

again the numbers and the

8:19

finances in F one always a

8:21

bit opaque, but I think on this one they probably

8:24

look some sponsors paying kind

8:27

and what I mean by d is they pay with the technology

8:29

we mentioned Oracle, Aws, et cetera. Google,

8:31

they offer the tablets and all of that. I think

8:34

with this one there's a fair amount that DHL

8:36

puts up front. But also it's not because

8:38

we're flying DHL planes that Formula

8:40

one doesn't actually pay for this, so they're

8:43

chartered planes and we'll get we'll get into the n antiquity

8:45

of that because the teams then have to pay Formula one for

8:47

spaces on that plane as well.

8:49

I see.

8:49

So there's a couple of layers to this.

8:51

Jeez.

8:51

They've been working with DHL, their their logistics

8:54

and chipping partner for forty years now, and

8:56

DHL actually sends thirty five

8:58

dedicated specialist Formula one to every

9:00

single race to oversee it.

9:01

So yeah, in total, we always have

9:04

up to fifty people on

9:06

site at teach events.

9:08

It's one of those things where they're obviously presenting sponsor

9:10

of the series. They get paid a lot of money and

9:13

they get a lot of value out of the partnership that they have with

9:15

Formula One. And this is their gig

9:17

right, this is their job, this is what the company does, so

9:19

they've obviously put a lot of resources towards

9:21

it to make sure that everything runs smoothly.

9:23

We have got our air freight team, We've got

9:25

C Freight, We've got PADO Club, we

9:27

have got our TV guys who

9:30

focus on the TV broadcasters.

9:32

So everyone is a specialist

9:35

in something, but as well

9:37

as they know how to do everything,

9:39

So we tend to have one team that

9:42

has got one specialist on

9:46

each side, but overall they

9:48

can all cover each other's job. We

9:50

all know each other. We're all like a little village

9:53

dealing with the same people. You're just in a

9:55

different country. So it's like we

9:57

were all a big team.

10:00

Just move in from A to B and

10:02

BB to C. So it does feel

10:04

like a big family.

10:06

So we used to have a much lighter calendar.

10:08

And actually that's another hot topic in this sport of people

10:10

saying we don't need I'm a big believer in that that

10:12

we don't actually need more races It

10:15

used to be that we had maybe twelve, sixteen,

10:18

eighteen races in the season, which

10:20

meant that more or less between each race weekend

10:22

there was a week or two or three. Now

10:25

we're adding more and more races, the calendars

10:27

getting bigger and bigger, which means that we now

10:29

have to squish a lot of these races together, which

10:31

means we end up with double headers and sometimes triple

10:33

headers.

10:34

It's the nature of the business model, which

10:36

is race promoters paying extravagant

10:38

fees for the traveling circus to come to town, and

10:41

they're really giving a lot of the annual revenue

10:43

to Formula One. It's the basis of their business.

10:46

And in other sports, if we want to talk about American

10:48

specifically, if you think about the NFL or the NBA,

10:50

or any of the major sports leagues here in the US, that

10:53

position of power is really with the media

10:55

companies, right It's with the ESPNS,

10:57

the Fox, the CBS, those companies, because

11:00

they're the ones that are providing the most revenue to the sports

11:02

leagues. It's no secret if you look at the NFL, they

11:04

make about twenty billion dollars a year in annual revenue,

11:06

but about ten or eleven billion of that is coming specifically

11:09

from their media partners. So there's this constant

11:11

tug of war going on of like, we're going

11:13

to give you better games if you do this, and vice

11:16

versa. And I think that's the relationship

11:18

in Formula one that belongs with the race promoters

11:20

because they're the ones that are essentially I

11:22

mean, if you look at some of these races, they're paying upwards

11:24

of fifty million dollars every year for

11:26

Formula one to come to town for like three days, right,

11:29

And that's obviously a lot of money, especially

11:31

when you break it down on an annual basis per event.

11:33

And I think that's the reason why these race promoters

11:35

have so much power. And that's not to say that Liberty Media

11:38

and Formula One don't have power. I think

11:40

that they just have to kind of work together to

11:42

figure out the best schedule, and it's not always

11:44

easy when you're moving twenty to twenty five different

11:46

partners around.

11:47

In Unison, I think we are hitting

11:49

the limit because we keep adding

11:52

and adding and adding, and you don't

11:54

realize that we have got one

11:56

team of people that are doing this race.

11:58

So at the end of the day, to ask a person

12:01

that has got a life, that wants

12:03

to have a life to do even

12:05

more races. I mean it means

12:08

a lot of days away from home. From

12:10

what I have seen, people are starting

12:12

to complaining now because it's I mean,

12:14

you don't get any work life balance.

12:16

It's just work. It just never

12:19

stops. I mean sometimes it feels

12:21

like we're shipping organs

12:23

or I mean we are saving lives,

12:26

like your doctors saving lives. The

12:28

stress that you feel is

12:31

enormous.

12:32

This year, we're going to do Vegas and then we're gonna

12:34

go and fly in Abu Dhabi, which is insane by the way, because

12:37

it's a twenty five hour trip from Vegas

12:39

to Abu Dhabi and then there's eleven hour time

12:41

difference between the two, and then we're expecting

12:43

these drivers to drive.

12:44

It's not safe.

12:45

I actually tweeted something out last year when the

12:47

NFL traveled to Germany for their game,

12:49

and there was a huge debate about when the team should

12:52

get there. I forget who was. It was either the Dolphins or

12:54

the Chiefs that got there like three to four

12:56

days before the other team, And the argument

12:58

was that if you're not going to go a week early,

13:01

you're better off just going like two days early,

13:03

because then your internal clock

13:05

is not going to be as messed up, and by the time it

13:07

reverts to that, you're moving back. And

13:09

I made a comment just kind of like a throw

13:12

away comment, essentially saying that it's really hard on the

13:14

body, and Formula one drivers have to do with

13:16

this, but the fact that you're getting

13:18

hit, you know, makes it that much harder. And I

13:20

did that, and obviously people got upset

13:22

form of the one fan saying this is a really physical sport.

13:24

And I went back and I hated that I did that because I'm

13:26

not one of those people that say Formula one isn't physical. It's

13:29

extremely physical, right. The g forces that you

13:31

have in certain corners and the toll that it takes on your body,

13:33

not only physically but mentally is really

13:35

challenging. And I think that's where jet lag comes in

13:37

is I read this quote. It was in the New

13:39

York Times a few years ago, and as a physio for one of the teams,

13:41

and they were essentially saying that what they want to do

13:44

is they want to get to a location that they're

13:46

going to race. If it's one hour time

13:48

difference, they want to get their one day ahead. If it's three, they

13:50

want to get their three days ahead. And when you're

13:52

racing in a time zone like Las Vegas to Abu

13:54

Dhabi, that's I don't know how long ahead that is. It's probably

13:56

like eight to ten hours or something like that. That

13:59

is extremely challenging, and it's impossible because the race

14:01

is actually only seven days beforehand. They have families,

14:03

they want to hang out at home, they want these other things, so

14:06

to do that. You've seen this. I mean in Singapore,

14:08

a lot of the drivers they're completely inverting their

14:10

schedule. Las Vegas was the same thing. They're staying

14:13

up until the early morning hours because quality

14:15

isn't taking place in some instances, or practiced till

14:17

one or two in the morning.

14:18

We were having breakfast at four

14:20

pm, lunch at midnight,

14:23

and dinner at like two am when we would get

14:25

back into the Hope. And you think, and I don't

14:28

need to get in a car and race and experience

14:30

the g forces and I'm already messed up.

14:32

Yeah. I mean, the half of the drivers and

14:34

the team members probably don't even know what time it is when they go

14:36

to certain places, right, because it's just it's like a

14:38

blur and you're doing it for several months at a time,

14:41

and that's obviously difficult on the drivers. They're

14:43

the athletes that are performing, but I think one

14:45

of the most underrated parts is really how hard it is on

14:47

the team members too.

14:48

In Las Vegas, we were starting at a three

14:51

pm and finishing at six am in the morning,

14:53

so you adapt to the actual

14:56

schedule of the race. That is

14:58

another interesting part of the job.

15:00

You just have to work when you have to work, and it's

15:03

like your body adapts to it.

15:05

Also, these little boys can raise their little cars

15:07

around the track yep, yep today,

15:10

heart's content.

15:11

You get used to sleep when you can sleep,

15:13

so like like you have eight hours off, okay

15:15

sleep, that's I mean, it's

15:18

just something that your body understand

15:20

when you have time to sleep, sleep, because any

15:22

other time you just have to do something, so

15:25

you just you learn to use the

15:27

time you're given.

15:29

In some instances, they're also away from their family

15:31

for months at a time. Right when the European schedule

15:33

comes out, it could be two months at in a row that you're away

15:35

from your family most of the week. So

15:37

that's really difficult. Not only them, but their families

15:40

too, if you have kids and other things like that. So I think

15:42

part of it's the driver's, part of it's the teams, and it

15:44

adds up to this just extremely complicated

15:47

scenario logistically that's almost

15:49

impossible to solve. But they're getting better at it each

15:51

year.

15:52

Look, we all want to grow whatever

15:54

sport we're talking about, yeah, but they all

15:57

get sucked into this idea

16:00

football, baseball of more and

16:02

more and more, and it dilutes the quality

16:04

of the sport and it puts the athletes

16:06

at risk. Don't do it, and it's interesting. That's

16:09

not what this episode's about.

16:10

No, but it's a fair point because one of the arguments

16:12

that I make all the time is not we're diluting

16:14

the championship. The less races

16:17

there are, the more important each race is towards

16:19

the championship and the championship points. The more races

16:21

you add. The fact that we have this year Maxwistappan

16:24

who's won the championship and there was what four or

16:26

five races still to go, is an interesting

16:28

problem that we are in now.

16:31

So it's a long flight to Abu Dhabi.

16:33

It's a long flight, and.

16:34

Think about those special gloves

16:36

with the monitors on them at heart rate?

16:39

What if that gets lost in the flight. What if you just

16:41

get a left glove.

16:42

And that is part of the.

16:43

Then you'll only know what the

16:46

athletes left hand heart rate.

16:47

Is the left.

16:50

Yes, we're

16:52

digressing.

16:52

Let's take a short logistical break here so we can

16:54

listen to some ads. So back

16:58

from the ads. So let me ask

17:01

maybe a silly question, maybe a brilliant question.

17:03

Sure it's a brilliant question.

17:04

It wouldn't be so sure, honest alpine races

17:07

they come in, what are they usually coming?

17:09

Fifteen sixteen? It depends.

17:12

Okay, it doesn't matter what midfield. Okay,

17:14

midfield for the sake of this question

17:16

has no bearing on the question. Okay,

17:20

they pull into the paddock at the end.

17:22

Where does the actual physical

17:25

car go?

17:26

You will never see a full car.

17:29

It's always in pieces.

17:31

The only time you see a car, it

17:34

means it's a show car. So it's not an

17:36

actual car. It's too sensitive

17:38

to send it completely built,

17:40

so it is completely put in

17:43

parts and sent as each individual

17:45

item. You will never see a car.

17:47

You will only see a box containing parts

17:50

of the car.

17:51

How much equipment are we talking here?

17:53

You know.

17:55

A couple of trucks, four or five trucks, Is

17:57

it just like the Formula one cars and they put a little

18:00

good track on top.

18:01

I love that.

18:01

And they can get there faster because they can go so fast.

18:05

The visual to that is pretty spectacular.

18:08

Would effect win track?

18:09

Yes, yes, yes,

18:14

Okay, if you want numbers, I have

18:16

numbers.

18:17

Yes, they want numbers, okay.

18:18

Fifteen hundred tons of equipment throughout the entire year

18:20

and they're traveling seventy five thousand miles.

18:22

The DHL cargo travels in

18:24

six or seven Boeing seven four

18:26

seven cargo planes.

18:27

In Europe it is up to nearly

18:30

four hundred trucks for every race.

18:32

If you had too much time on your hands and you wanted

18:34

to put each of these trucks one in front

18:37

of the other, they would make a convoy

18:39

longer than five kilometers.

18:40

They're not all the HL trucks. The teams

18:43

have got their own hospitality trucks

18:45

and garages which are all rended.

18:48

Each team ships the equivalent weight

18:50

of eight elephants per race.

18:52

How many kangaroos is that?

18:54

Michael assuming Tony is referring

18:56

to an average African male elephant and

18:58

Michael has in mind the male red kangaroo.

19:01

The answer would be one thousand

19:03

and three hundred kangaroos worth of freight

19:05

per team per race.

19:08

Over a season, the teams will

19:10

ship six hundred and sixty tons

19:13

of air freight and five hundred

19:15

tons of sea freight.

19:17

But what's that on elephants?

19:18

You know, it's funny that you as I have the number in elephants.

19:21

That's the equivalent of one hundred and sixty five

19:23

elephants. I

19:27

think that's all the stats that I have for you related

19:29

to logistics.

19:30

I weigh roughly point

19:33

zero one five of an elephant.

19:34

That's not too bad.

19:35

One of the more interesting parts is actually the kits at

19:37

the beginning of the season. So again everything's loaded

19:39

up on maybe two, three or four cars

19:41

that are going to European races and driving to each

19:43

other. Most of the equipment feels fits on there,

19:46

excluding the motor homes, which are obviously a little bit

19:48

bigger need to be on bigger trucks. But when we

19:50

talk about flyaway races, all

19:52

of that equipment is mostly transported. That isn't

19:54

the cars and other things on these kits that are sent at

19:56

the beginning of the year.

19:57

They have got between five to

20:00

sik set and they can rotate

20:02

them in between races and they

20:04

can cover the whole year.

20:06

And I think that logistically is one of the

20:08

more challenging parts because those are happening

20:10

in elite frog positions. Right, They're not only

20:12

going to Zanvor and then going

20:14

back to the factory. They're going to Miami.

20:16

But instead of going back to the factory, they're staying on

20:18

the road for another three months, and

20:20

they're being transported to Austin, to Las

20:23

Vegas, to Canada, to Mexico and other places

20:25

in the same area.

20:26

What part of this job do you sit back and go, I can't

20:28

believe we pull this off.

20:30

This makes nose, I would say,

20:32

what is chocking me every week

20:35

is how quickly everything

20:38

is part done and moved because you

20:40

wouldn't even imagine it.

20:42

Do you have any idea when they start packing

20:44

up, for example after race? Yeah,

20:46

like right after the race, do you think there's like a

20:49

day to.

20:49

Like, let me tell let me tell you how the Daily Show

20:52

does it? Okay, Okay, So we go to Atlanta

20:54

last year for four shows

20:57

and Thursday the show ends at

20:59

eight thirty one pm and

21:01

they start packing up at eight thirty two pm,

21:05

Like before you're even done finishing, they're taking

21:07

the lights down. I would assume that F one is

21:09

that time's a bit bazillion.

21:10

It's very close to that. They actually

21:13

the moment the cars hit the track, they already

21:15

are.

21:15

They're already doing it.

21:16

While the race is happening, everyone is focused

21:18

on the race itself. Everything

21:21

else is moving and you don't see what's happening

21:24

because you're focusing on the race. But

21:27

in the meantime, everything else is being

21:29

parked because a few hours afterwards

21:31

everything has to leave. So it is

21:34

just crazy how it takes maybe three

21:36

four days to set it up and

21:38

a few hours to

21:40

pack it crazy and unless you are

21:43

on site, you just don't realize

21:45

how quickly that happens.

21:47

It's not uncommon for

21:49

the entire F one presence

21:52

to be completely gone eight hours

21:55

after the Grand Prix is finished, like everyone's

21:57

just disappeared, which is kind of crazy.

21:58

It's like a one night stand right.

22:01

Here, and then you're not and.

22:02

Then you're gone, just longing, just.

22:05

Just gone

22:08

on the bedside table.

22:12

Miss me and I'm

22:14

gone.

22:19

When do we go by boat? When do we go

22:21

by plane. Okay, when do we drive?

22:24

When is it horseback?

22:26

No?

22:26

What what mode of transport are

22:28

we using? And why you can't go Vegas Abu Dhabi

22:30

on a truck?

22:31

No you can't, Right, So it depends on how much

22:33

time you have in between certain events. Right.

22:35

So the kits that I talk about, those will move on

22:38

boats because you have several months

22:40

before you need them, and then once they get to

22:43

Miami or Brazil or wherever they're

22:45

going, then they'll be transported on cars

22:47

to the next races from there. But things

22:49

that would go on a plane would be the cars themselves

22:51

or things that you need to get there immediately.

22:53

The air freight is normally the most

22:55

valuable items, which

22:57

is normally like what is extremely

23:00

sensitive? Yeah, it cannot be replicated.

23:04

It's one set only, and that goes

23:06

air freight.

23:06

A lot of like the general equipment we'll call

23:08

it carjacks, tables, chairs,

23:10

things like that will already be there because it'll be

23:13

on one of the kits. But obviously the cars

23:15

need to get there, so that will go on a plane and other

23:17

like immediate things that could be necessary

23:19

that you don't necessarily want to put on a kit several

23:22

months before that you're going to use at the actual race

23:24

that are either expensive like the cars

23:26

or extra engines or things like that will

23:28

be transported via plane. And the trucks

23:31

are really just used for the European races, so those

23:33

are things that will transport everything from the cars to the

23:35

engines, to the tables and the chairs and everything in between.

23:37

Right.

23:38

Of course, an influence is also

23:40

the costs. Of course, air freight is more

23:42

expensive than sea fraight. So

23:44

what they're trying to do because of the cost

23:46

cup is they're trying to send as much

23:49

as they can sea freight because

23:51

it's cheaper to send it sea freight than air

23:53

freight.

23:53

So at any given time, there are ships

23:56

and planes with f one cargo

23:58

going around the world. Only imagine

24:00

plopping all of this up on a map is pretty insane.

24:03

They but for the flyaway races, they divide

24:06

the cargo into really important

24:08

crucial equipment and then the stuff

24:10

that can go slow that we also

24:13

have four five different packs the same version of the

24:15

same stuff.

24:15

Then it's going to land in a port and

24:18

run through customs.

24:19

Customs.

24:19

I mean, I've like in my little comedy

24:22

world, I get hung up performing

24:24

in Canada because I got to go through their like tax

24:27

department, you know, and then it's like now

24:29

I'm in the States. And then they go to Australia and it's like

24:31

this is just me and

24:33

I can only imagine it's insane.

24:36

I don't think there's a single story where

24:38

a race couldn't start because the

24:40

cargo didn't arrive. But there are many

24:42

stories of just like riots

24:44

have broken out in a country, or there's

24:46

a canal that's been blocked because lots of and

24:48

so all the ships are being waited, and at that point they will

24:51

take a snap decision and go, well, the cargo that

24:53

we were sending to another location, let's dock

24:55

it, let's put it on a plane and get it back here fast.

24:57

And so you have these insane decisions that come

24:59

up those moments because the world is

25:02

what it is and certain things that we can't control.

25:04

Yeah, I think this year a race was canceled

25:06

because of a flood, Right.

25:07

There's not a flood. Tire amphibious

25:11

vehicles, those things are sweet. There's

25:14

your kids ever do those?

25:15

It's gonna turn on the propellor.

25:16

He's gonna hold lord and we're gonna quaggle.

25:18

Lot it roll. I

25:28

think one of the craziest things to me is

25:30

the motor homes at.

25:32

The European races, which makes sense if you've

25:34

ever gone camping versus taking a

25:36

plane trip, you can take a lot more with you.

25:38

So those motor homes that you're talking about,

25:41

they aren't much bigger and is

25:43

more to build because they bring more at the

25:45

European races.

25:46

And specifically Red Bulls. Red Bull is

25:48

famous that they bring their motor home to Monaco

25:51

and they've stood it in the bay, right, And what

25:53

they do is they literally bring it to the bay

25:55

and they construct it. It takes twenty five

25:58

crew members thirty six hours to assemble it and

26:00

one day to take it down. They put it on

26:02

a barge and they bring it to Monaco, right, they

26:04

float it down the Italian Riviera, which I think

26:06

is just absolutely amazing, and it speaks

26:08

to the lengths that

26:10

these teams will go to to make sure that everything's

26:12

set up. Because part of what we have to remember

26:15

here is that most of Formula one revolves

26:17

around sponsorships, right, certainly at the

26:19

lower level teams, the majority of their income is

26:21

coming through sponsorships, and maybe a little bit

26:23

less called forty percent of their income is coming through

26:25

sponsorships at the high level teams, but these

26:27

teams are making you know, hundreds of millions of

26:29

dollars in some cases from sponsorships each year.

26:32

So entertaining those sponsors in

26:34

places like the paddock club or in the motor homes

26:36

themselves is especially important

26:39

to the income and the business of these teams.

26:41

So Red Bull certainly takes it seriously. Mercedes

26:43

Ferraris and a bunch of these teams take it really seriously

26:46

because they know that if people come to the races,

26:48

they have fun, in some cases,

26:51

they're going to spend more money with the team next year, or

26:53

it could sell a sponsorship in the future. And

26:55

that's a huge reason why Formula

26:57

one kind of gets this reputation for

27:00

just being this luxurious, you know, sporting event

27:02

where there's champagne and there's caviare

27:04

and there's lobster and there's all these things. And

27:06

I think part of the reason why that's true in some cases

27:09

is because they're entertaining corporate partners that are

27:11

paying tens of millions of dollars annually

27:14

to make sure that everything runs smoothly.

27:16

Yo, Hi, this is when you would play my stand

27:18

up my stand up comedy joke on my special

27:21

about packing for

27:24

driving versus packing for flying.

27:28

When you fly somewhere, you really think about

27:30

packing. You know, you talk it out with

27:32

each other. We stuff

27:35

things in the shoes. That's a good spot. But

27:37

if you're driving somewhere, Brillian,

27:42

bring it. We're driving, brigand.

27:47

Honey. Should I bring the blender?

27:49

Yes?

27:52

I may want to make fresh tomato soup this

27:54

weekend.

27:55

What about the treadmill? It's already packed.

27:58

We're driving.

28:00

We're driving, person

28:03

your see fill twelve

28:05

of you ride?

28:08

Does there happen to be I don't know a

28:10

fun fact.

28:10

I feel like Mary Poppins going in my bag. Now, give

28:13

me a fun fact.

28:13

Give me a fun fact.

28:16

There's a rule now that states that

28:18

when the team crates are

28:20

placed on the pit lane of any venue,

28:23

that's when they all arrives. Teams

28:25

are not allowed to access their team

28:28

crates until every single team has

28:30

received all of their cargo.

28:32

Exactly exactly.

28:34

Love this, like fence. Love

28:36

this.

28:36

And the reason I think why every team is

28:38

on board with this is you just never know

28:40

what could happen to you, and if it could be you so

28:43

I think that's pretty cool. It's both but it's also

28:45

a safety and security thing as well, that you can't

28:48

have one team upfloading stuff well and other team's

28:50

not doing anything, because then those people are probably hanging around

28:52

on the pit lane and all the pitwalk and they shouldn't

28:54

be there.

28:55

And I also love that F

28:58

one with all of its data and

29:01

game strategy and logistics,

29:05

they all just agree like sometimes they fuck

29:07

up your luggage, so we're all just gonna

29:09

wait, like even like they're there's

29:11

so in control of everything, and but they're still

29:13

just like, look as if at a fairness. I thinks

29:16

I love this rule.

29:16

And it's even if there's like two or three shipments,

29:19

like you wait until everyone, which

29:21

I think is a nice role. I do that now with

29:23

my husband when we both order something and

29:25

we're both waiting for it, we will open up our packages

29:27

when we've both seen.

29:28

That, oh that's not what I did.

29:33

Won't be doing that.

29:35

We're at a point in my family where

29:39

if your food's ready, you eat it. You

29:41

you know, but I'm I don't. I'm hoping we also

29:44

change that eventually. But with we

29:46

have kids, two little kids, it's just like you eat

29:48

when you can eat.

29:49

We're hoping that everyone in F one is adults

29:51

at this point.

29:52

I would love it if we could hire

29:54

an F one logistician at our house,

29:57

like one, because that would help me manage my life

29:59

tire as well to its full capacity. Let's

30:01

keep moving moving. One

30:04

of the attributes that I'm really enjoying

30:07

this season, okay, of learning about

30:09

F one is this cooperative

30:12

competitiveness. Tennis has this

30:15

a lot, Like you end up having

30:17

to practice oftentimes with someone

30:19

who might be your opponent because you have

30:22

to and both parties are like, we're both

30:24

in this town or country together,

30:26

we need to practice. Or you split a hotel

30:28

room with someone that's in the draw. You might

30:30

play that person. But I'm really

30:33

enjoying learning how F

30:35

one has some of that cooperation.

30:37

Yeah, I must be the same, and I imagine

30:40

answer this for me. They're practicing amongst

30:43

themselves because there's no one else that's better than

30:45

the coming.

30:45

Right, you can only practice with so many people.

30:49

I like that, all right, So what's

30:51

being moved? The cars?

30:53

Everything?

30:54

The wheels, does PERELLI take the wheels,

30:56

the gloves.

30:58

Absolutely everything you

31:00

see and that is used during a race weekend is

31:02

most likely being transported.

31:05

Apart from the circuited cell. Yeah,

31:08

that's the only thing that that.

31:11

Sense because the circuit doesn't actually belong

31:13

to Formula one. It actually belongs to the promoters.

31:15

So that's not going anywhere. Even think

31:18

about even like we talked about all

31:20

the data, there's data storage

31:22

systems and data servers that are being moved

31:24

as well. There's cable that's being moved like that

31:27

list.

31:27

There's a guy with a handcuff on

31:30

a briefcase that's got the hard drives.

31:32

Never met him. Oh you want a fun fact?

31:34

Yeah, so want of fun fact doesn't involve

31:36

a guy with a briefcase and handcuffs, but it

31:38

does involve a guy called the

31:40

f one tailor with a backpack. There

31:43

is one guy that walks up

31:45

and down the paddock who is sole

31:47

job and only responsibility is to tailor

31:50

anything that any of the drivers need, whether

31:53

it's their gloves, the suit anything. There's

31:56

a fantastic story that I was told

31:58

by one of the team's last see about Fernando

32:00

Alonso. The way they they

32:04

work with very specific manufacturers and very

32:06

specific teams. The people who do the under

32:08

garments, the people who do the race suits and everything

32:10

is tailored to absolutely an inch of their lives.

32:13

And the person who had been doing Alonzo's

32:16

gloves for many, many years changed

32:18

and apparently Alonzo when he tried on his gloves,

32:20

he was like, this doesn't feel right.

32:22

What's happened? And they said, oh, we've got

32:24

to do it, and He's like, I can feel it, and so I'm going to need

32:26

a few jass the changes. So there

32:29

is there isn't a guy with a briefcase, but there's a

32:31

guy with a backpack who's called the tailor, who

32:33

gets called into whenever any of the

32:35

drivers need a bit of tailoring. That's

32:37

call job.

32:38

There's an a called tailor for these drivers.

32:40

Correct.

32:41

You know there's a guy in New York. Yeah that

32:44

you probably know this. YOHI Endzoltan.

32:46

There's a guy in New York who twenty four hour

32:48

emergency phone will

32:51

saw your couch in half?

32:54

Wait what then move it because

32:56

it won't fit in your apartment. In New

32:59

York City, people have a huge problem of their

33:01

couches won't You can get in the apartment, but you can't

33:03

get in the building or in the elevator. Called

33:05

the couch doctor. He'll saw your

33:07

couch in half and then move it upstairs

33:10

for you and then reassemble it for you.

33:12

Yes, I just had a situation

33:14

with a puppy.

33:15

You'll saw the puppy and half.

33:18

Quickly give us the rest of that story.

33:22

No, I mean the point. I'm just gonna go right to the point

33:24

here. But if you guys need to have a really good

33:27

and I think you know, not cheap, but

33:29

like you know, you get your money's worth couch

33:31

cleaner yea, if anybody needs so, yeah,

33:33

yeah it's not.

33:38

Let's talk about my favorite part

33:41

of logistics when it comes to anything

33:44

which involves large groups and travel.

33:47

Carrots food, yes, close,

33:51

but yes, carrots. Like if you're if

33:53

if Lance Stroll

33:56

loves his carrot

33:58

and he's in Las Vegas and they're going to Abu Dhabi,

34:01

Like, is someone going grocery shopping in Abu Dhabi?

34:03

Is they bring it's just caviar?

34:06

Sorry but bad example, but catering

34:09

food? Like, how is all this happening? Someone's

34:11

in charge of this, Someone is in charge of the food.

34:14

You've actually absolutely

34:16

there's someone in charge of the food. And you've probably

34:19

just named one of the few things that doesn't

34:21

really travel with the flyaway

34:23

races, so catering

34:25

is mostly organized on site. Also,

34:28

things like you mentioned, like the amount of people moving,

34:30

like things like booking hotel rooms, cars,

34:32

even internet connectivities, all stuff that's

34:34

generally done on site. You

34:36

know, they're not creating motor homes for all of these people.

34:39

They are maybe for the drivers and the direct teams

34:41

in European races, but in flyaway races,

34:44

this is all stuff that's left to what

34:46

happens when we land out.

34:47

But what about the like data

34:50

cables.

34:51

Data cables I think is a mixture. I think

34:53

the teams have the cables

34:56

and the connectivity that they need for

34:58

their own screens. But then, as

35:01

with there anythinking F one, there's the stuff that the

35:03

f I needs to govern that race.

35:05

There's the stuff that Formula one needs to put

35:08

on the race and run f on TV

35:10

and all of that, and then it's all of the stuff that every

35:12

team needs.

35:12

It has to be perfect, it has to be perfect. Mix

35:15

CHAMPI slow like oh you know Vegas,

35:17

their internet's a little slow, Like what's

35:19

the password? Like, it's got to be perfect, it's got to be

35:21

perfect.

35:22

There are days where you just can't

35:24

keep up. You just hate it because the

35:26

stress is a lot, the deadlines

35:29

are just unbelievable. But

35:32

when you see that it's a team

35:34

efforts. So when we all work together

35:36

as a team, which we just learn to understand

35:38

each other well, learn when is the right moment to

35:41

ask something, to do something, well, learn when

35:43

it's the right moment. Maybe just

35:46

avoid any additional

35:51

stress. So it becomes in a way, a

35:54

little family where you all know how

35:57

to deal with each other and you

35:59

know how to make it work. So, I

36:01

mean you can actually see

36:03

that by working as a team,

36:06

we make it happen. And regardless

36:08

of how much we may argue and

36:10

fight in between, at the end of the day,

36:13

we have made it happen together. So every

36:15

single individual has done something to make

36:17

it happen. And that's what makes it rewarding

36:19

at the end, because on Sunday

36:22

night, after every race, you can see

36:24

that your effort have made

36:26

it happen.

36:28

So there's boats, Yeah,

36:31

there's planes.

36:32

Explains six to seven planes.

36:33

There's trucks. None of this

36:35

sounds good for the climate or environment.

36:38

It's probably not. I

36:40

think it's not up to me to decide.

36:43

Probably where Formula one is on their

36:45

net carbon neutral promise, but

36:47

they've obviously made that and it's something that I know that they're

36:49

serious about. So we'll leave

36:51

it up to Liberty Media and Formula one to give

36:54

us some numbers in the near future about what progress

36:56

they've made on that, and hopefully

36:58

we're at least trending in the right direction.

37:00

I don't want to come across as snooty

37:03

because this is a competitive sport. It's all

37:05

gratuitous and you know, we

37:08

don't need to have ye so

37:10

there is an acceptability of

37:12

like the stuff costs

37:15

money and costs resources, but

37:19

f one it seems a little bit over the top, like maybe

37:21

we could do a better job.

37:22

These other times where I really miss Sebastian

37:25

Vettel because he was so good at

37:27

talking about I absolutely

37:29

realized that I race in the sport that guzzles

37:32

fuel as we travel around the world, and

37:34

at the same time I'm campaigning to

37:36

save the bees because we need to save the environment.

37:39

And he has such an.

37:40

Edgy campaign to save the bees.

37:42

He bought bees this year to

37:44

Japan and built opponent's

37:46

helmets.

37:48

They were on the track, they had.

37:50

These like little bee hives on the track. That they

37:52

were like painting. I don't know if the bees were actually

37:54

on track, but the beehives one track, but maybe the bees

37:56

were there too be meet up. But

37:59

he's so eloquent at talking about

38:02

both things can be true, like this is a

38:04

sport that's constantly you know, we have to do.

38:06

Better, because that could also be seen as

38:08

like rich pro athlete

38:10

is so out of touch so with reality.

38:13

But you're saying he did it in the right way.

38:14

He did it and I these are

38:16

not my words, but one of the

38:18

people who used to work very closely with him

38:21

explained it this way, like he

38:23

is middle class, white

38:26

sis married man, and yet he always

38:29

campaigned for all of the right things.

38:31

He always found time. He's the

38:33

last person who needed to campaign for LGTBQ

38:36

rights, He's the last person who needed to campaign for eco

38:39

friendliness. He's the last person who needed to campaign

38:41

for you know, equality and diversity,

38:43

and yet he was always there and

38:45

he still is. I only say that as he's no longer in

38:47

the sport and left last year, But he had

38:50

such a good way of saying, I

38:52

have to be comfortable driving

38:55

and being in this sport and also doing good

38:57

in the world. One doesn't take away from the

38:59

other as long as you're conscious and willing to

39:01

have And look, here's the amazing thing about him is he

39:03

had those conversations under the Aramcobana

39:06

and got very comfortable

39:08

at doing that.

39:10

In the world of Sebastian Vettel, the

39:12

B and LGBTQ was

39:17

b's.

39:21

So, Michael, final thoughts. Are you a

39:23

logistics fan?

39:24

I am a logistics fan. I'm impressed

39:28

and I

39:30

don't know if it's going to make me turn on a race

39:34

to know that all this

39:36

school logistics is happening. But to

39:39

even just watch Su Paulo, Vegas

39:41

Abu Dhabi, it just blows your mind that it's the same

39:44

teams and the same drivers in such a different

39:46

part of the world. It blows my mind. And

39:49

you know, there's like a wife that's like, how's

39:51

Abu Dhabi this week? And he's like, it's actually

39:53

I'm in Vegas. You know, it's like, oh, well, whatever, I don't

39:56

give a.

39:56

Shit, you're not here.

39:57

Yeah.

39:58

Exactly what

40:00

you've helped me appreciate is when I'm watching

40:02

the race, there

40:04

was just so many factors that made

40:07

this race happen, much like me

40:09

getting here today, with

40:11

you, blessing you. You said you were

40:13

blessed?

40:14

What was the existence?

40:15

What'd you say it was? We as we all feel

40:17

blessed. We all feel

40:19

blessed watching F one race,

40:21

knowing all the things that needed to

40:24

happen to make that happens.

40:26

Bless you.

40:36

This has been Choosing Sides F

40:39

one, a production of Sports

40:41

Illustrated Studios, iHeart Podcasts

40:44

and one oh one Studio Podcasts.

40:47

The show is hosted by Michael Costa and

40:49

Tony Cowen Brown. This episode was edited,

40:52

scored, and sound designed by Senior

40:54

producer Jai Maythan Scott

40:58

Stone is the executive producer and head

41:00

of audio, and Daniel Wexman is

41:02

Director of podcast Development and production

41:05

manager at One on one Studios.

41:08

At iHeart Podcasts, Sean Titone

41:10

is our executive producer. And a

41:12

special thank you to Michelle Newman, David

41:15

Glasser, and David Hootkin from

41:17

One on one Studios. For

41:19

more shows from iHeart Podcasts, go

41:22

visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts

41:24

or wherever you get

41:26

your podcasts, and whatever

41:29

you do, don't forget to rate

41:31

us and tell your friends

41:34

it really does mean a lot.

41:46

So next week, I'm Choosing sides f one, the gossip.

41:49

What is Formula one without the literati?

41:52

The gossip, the scandal, the drama. It's

41:54

going to be salacious watching

41:59

and Hi inappropriate.

42:01

Let's get down there we go.

42:03

We will have the awkward celebrity moments,

42:06

we will propagate unsubstantiated

42:08

rumors, and we will have a pandemic

42:11

of luxury. Watch feels cool.

42:12

Can't wait? Talk about that shit.

42:13

Let's go, oh

42:17

dear,