Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has warned any loss of freight could “wreak havoc” on F1 due to its tight schedule this season.
The sport will run a record 23 races this year if and when a replacement for the axed Russian Grand Prix is announced, with double and triple-headers included in the second half of the season to facilitate a November finish.
But freight issues have already plagued the motorsports world this year with Haas missing the first day of Bahrain pre-season testing whilst in MotoGP, the entire first day of running at the Argentine round was canceled with freight late to be delivered.
Horner has been vocal on the issues of rising cargo costs and has previously called for a budget cap review in order to reflect the increase in payment.
Asked how much of a headache delays could be on top of the rising costs, Horner replied: “It’s a big challenge.
“We have a very complicated calendar and there are very tight timescales, and with some of the triple-headers, and double-headers coming up late in the year, obviously losing freight for a period of time could wreak havoc.
“So that’s one issue that we’re working, obviously, very closely with the logistic guys and Formula 1 with, but then, of course, there’s the cost element and I think freight is close to doubling this year.
“We see that in all the cost of living, we see inflation throughout the world and I think that’s… again when you consider that freight is something that is currently within the cap, we need to find a sensitive allowance that takes into account these inflationary costs because it has a one-on-one effect on parts and people at the end of the day, that your only compensatory place to offset that.
Insisting that F1 is “acutely aware” of the situation, Horner added: “I think the teams by and large are looking to find a workable solution but it is a concern, it’s something that we need to address sooner rather than later.”
