Paul Park on Haas F1 logistical problems

Scotsman Paul Park has been the logistics coordinator of the Haas F1 team since last year. Before the start of the season, he spoke about the difficulties and peculiarities of his job.

Paul Park: “As you know, our team has three bases – in the UK it is based in Banbury, in the US in Kannapolis and there is also a base in Italy. Establishing interaction between all three is not an easy task, mainly due to the fact that they are located in different time zones. If it’s 2 p.m. in Banbury, it’s 3 a.m. in America.

In addition, you have to deal with all kinds of customs procedures, a lot of paperwork and you have to plan everything precisely, because we always have to act in advance so that goods shipped from Italy or America reach their destination at the same time. time as those shipped from the UK.

In addition, part of the cargo is pre-shipped by sea – we have a total of six sets of such equipment, traveling the world during the year, returning to Banbury at various times for repair and maintenance.

These are all very complex tasks, where it is very important to take into account the time factor in the solution. The most important thing is that in our work we have to plan everything very clearly, so that all the necessary equipment is guaranteed to arrive at the same time and hopefully at the same place.

Personally, I mainly work at our base in Banbury, I don’t have to travel a lot with the team as we have a separate team of specialists who handle the logistics at the track. For example, when Haas machines that we ship from England, or certain components that we purchase from third-party suppliers, are delivered to a particular circuit, these specialists are responsible for assembling and preparing the equipment on site.

And after the races, as soon as the checkered flag is waved, the disassembly process begins, all equipment is disassembled again, packed and sent to the next race.

Perhaps the hardest part is sorting out the issues of shipping goods to the Australian Grand Prix as it is the furthest race. First everything is transported to the airport from Banbury on trailers, then by plane to Melbourne, where it is again transferred to trailers that transport our equipment to the circuit in Albert Park. And after the race, everything happens in reverse.

Although, as I mentioned, Haas has bases in America and Italy, the team’s main location is Banbury — our main logistics hub here. Out of season, work is also in full swing here, as all equipment must be carefully checked, maintained, repaired if necessary, then part of it is sent to the companies that supply it to us.

We ship it to America, Italy and also UK companies – generally we have a lot of work between the end of one season and the start of the next. After all, it is during this period that the process of assembling a new car also takes place, and with it there is always a lot of hassle. In Formula 1, nobody ever sits still.”