Missing F1 Cars Arrive in China

Massive relief for four teams whose cars were missing from their garages yesterday afternoon after aircraft issues delayed their transport by more than 30 hours. The four teams affected were McLaren, Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Red Bull, whose cars were more than 30 hours late arriving. This delay caused a myriad of challenges for the teams, who were eagerly waiting to get their cars into the garage and rebuilt.

So, here’s how it played out yesterday afternoon. The cars and a whole lot of other freight rolled up between about 14:00 and 16:00. The teams were then allowed to unpack their freight and get their cars into the garage. Normally, the curfew kicks in at 18:30, but since this was a rare case, the crews were allowed to work late. And I can tell you that there was feverish work going on in those garages. Red Bull left around 01:00, Aston Martin about 23:00, and Mercedes at 00:30. Additionally, Pirelli had a whole host of people working late to supply all the teams with their tires.

There were many comments on yesterday’s video asking if all the other teams couldn’t work on their cars until all the cars are there. That’s not the case. For instance, the VCARB crew left at about 17:30 because all their work had been done. Many crew members I spoke to today mentioned that anything over 8 hours in terms of a flight can be problematic with back-to-back races, but the worst one is Mexico to Brazil. That is a very tough transfer, and if anything goes wrong, like it has here, it becomes a significant issue. Despite none of the teams wanting that delay, everything will be fine for FP1.

I caught Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly out on the balcony of the hospitality suite here doing some press earlier today. Interestingly, Alpine admitted that they put a lot of heat on Jack by signing Franco Collapinto. However, the team acknowledged that Jack did well in qualifying in Australia. This race, with two qualifying sessions and two races because it’s a sprint weekend, is an enormous opportunity for the young Australian to continue with his good form, barring that error in the race that brought it to a premature end. I, for one, am keen to see how he performs in both races this weekend.

Now, Jack Doohan enters his third Formula One race of his career, and fun fact: he is the 19th Australian to drive in Formula One. To celebrate, I’ve done a signed print collaboration with him. He’ll be signing this print in Japan, and if you want to grab one, they’ll be hand-signed and numbered. Head to the shop at Kym Illman or click the link below. You’ll also receive a digital image of him signing for proof of authenticity.

Esteban Ocon’s trainer, Tom Clark, usually works with him in the garage. However, last weekend in Melbourne, this man was doing the training duties. Who is this? This is Michel, Esteban’s manager. So why wasn’t Tom there? He had a stomach bug, which rendered him unable to perform his duties, so Michel jumped in and handled things in the garage and on the grid.

The track differences between Melbourne and China are stark. This track is purpose-built and quite a glorious facility. It’s just sad we don’t get more spectators here. The paddock here is so different from Melbourne. Melbourne was small, intimate, grassy, and full of trees everywhere. This one is large; in fact, it is the largest paddock we have and can sometimes feel a little soulless. Just behind the paddock are beautiful gardens and lakes, making it a lovely place to photograph.

A couple of you asked which driver I have the most photographs of in my Lightroom catalog of the current 20. I did some research, and here’s what I found: I have the fewest photos of Gabriele Bortoleto with just 84. Following him are Isack Hadjar, Kimi Antonelli, Jack Doohan, Oliver Bearman, and Liam Lawson—all under 1,000. In the 3,000 range, we have Alex Albon, Yuki Tsunoda, Oscar Piastri, and Lance Stroll. In the 4,000 to 5,000 range are Esteban Ocon, Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg, and George Russell, with Pierre Gasly at 8,000. My top five are Carlos Sainz with 8,400, Max Verstappen with 8,800, and Charles Leclerc with 8,900. That leaves just two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris. Guess who I have more pictures of? It’s Lando Norris with around 13,400, about 3,000 more than Lewis.

Popular reserve driver for Alpine, Franco Colapinto, was quite excited to show off some local Argentinian treats this morning. Apparently, these go very well with mate, the drink he was keen for me to try last weekend. I did try them, and I thought they were a little bit like shortbread biscuits, but I wasn’t a fan, so I gave them a 6 out of 10.

Now, hats off to McLaren for their very organized water bottle system. Everyone has their own water bottle with their name on it and a designated spot for it to be held. I gather these are cleaned perhaps daily or certainly at the end of every event, and I haven’t seen that with any other team.

Normally, the F1 swipe gates are painted black, but not here in China. They’ve gone with the traditional China red and some lovely lanterns to give it a local feel. We are in the right place for great Chinese food, and I can tell you that Oliver Bearman is a fan of the local cuisine, citing Peking duck and dim sum as his favorites. This was while being interviewed and then presented with a panda as a thank you.

Lewis Hamilton entered the track today—not in fashionable kit, but in a Ferrari jacket. We had four days last race of him wearing stylish clothing, and today we expected the same, but no. He was careful too with photographers, choosing to dip his head or at one stage putting his hand over his face.

I need to apologize to this man—Joris. He is a close personal friend of Charles Leclerc’s, and I recently did a video about F1 drivers’ entourages, and I neglected to include him. Many of you pulled me up on that, so apologies, Joris. You get your own little special section. He is in fact Charles Leclerc’s personal life assistant, has known him since they were 7, and is a fine young man.

Aston Martin has covered up one of their crypto sponsors, and there’s also some covering up at Red Bull with Gate.io. That is a crypto, and unfortunately for those teams, crypto is a no-go here in China. Thus, China says they can’t have those logos visible on the car or their kit.

Did you notice at the Australian Grand Prix podium presentation that there was glass running in front of the podium? Normally, that is poles and wire. Not anymore, as I understand, because Louis Vuitton, a major sponsor of Formula One, has requested it, stating it looks more classy. However, it’s not so great for photographs.