Inside Maranello: How Ferrari remains flat out during F1's April break

Lewis Hamilton tests Pirelli's rain tyres at Fiorano in the SF-26

The ‘invisible’ world of F1 logistics

In Formula 1, logistics is a well-oiled machine that operates behind the scenes. As long as everything works, it remains invisible. But remove just one piece and its full complexity emerges. After pre-season testing, the pits in Bahrain were left untouched. The plan was to return and find everything ready for the race weekend. Today, however, that set-up is still there, suspended, awaiting shipment to a new location.

Each team has around seven garage set-up kits that are stored in hubs and shipped by sea to keep costs down. The two-week break scheduled between the Miami and Montreal Grands Prix is precisely due to the time needed to transport the equipment used in Florida to Canada. The breaks between certain races are never random: they are designed to allow that equipment to cross oceans and continents. Disrupting this flow means reworking the entire puzzle.

“Efficiency is crucial today,” explains Ioverno, “because even the transport of equipment is subject to the budget cap. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been trying to work out how to manage the rotation of equipment; we hope a route will open up soon to allow us to retrieve the kit that’s been stuck in Bahrain, as it’s due to be used at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. But in any case, we need to be ready with a Plan B”.

Honing in on pitstops

While one part of the team is reworking routes and strategies, another continues to make inroads on improving Ferrari's pitstops, with the team not having been able to practice as many reps as it wanted during 2026's frantic off-season.

“Let me start by taking a step back,” explains Ioverno. “Fortunately, the results haven’t shown it, but we arrived at this year’s first race with fewer training sessions than in previous seasons. The testing season was too intense; we started testing in the week when we would typically be in our third week of training. In the two weeks prior, we worked day and night shifts, so we only managed a third of the pitstops we had planned.”

In recent seasons, teams have realised they can no longer rely on a permanent pitcrew. We’re talking about a group of 27 people, and as in all other areas, the expansion of the calendar has necessitated staff rotation. That's crucial for staff wellbeing, but it also means more practice is needed for everyone involved to get up to speed and build the muscle memory of their respective position.

Ferrari SF-26: meccanici del Cavallino al lavoro instancabili

Ferrari SF-26: meccanici del Cavallino al lavoro instancabili

“There isn’t a single race where the pitstop crew is the same as the previous one, so this month’s unexpected break has been a godsend,” admits Ioverno. "We’ve been able to catch up on the sessions we weren’t able to do in January and February.”

Since the team returned from Suzuka, its pitstop crews have followed the same patterns every day. A practice session divided into three parts, with three different teams rotating through, which is a preview of what will happen in Miami, Canada, Monaco and Barcelona.

Not much of a break, indeed.

Read Also:

How Ferrari must step up its efforts to end its long F1 championship wait

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.