Our Own Ferrari for Formula E

His name is illustrious – but you’ve probably never heard of him. Pierluigi Ferrari is on the road 280 days a year for DHL Motorsports. The DHL logistics head for Formula 1 and Formula E tells us why motorsports logistics is “like a big puzzle.”

When you meet Pierluigi Ferrari, chances are he’s on his smartphone and wearing dark sunglasses. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to talk to you. Quite the contrary. He’s very passionate about his job and loves to talk about it — and that despite having established a very routine approach to his work. Ferrari has been handling DHL’s motorsport logistics for over 30 years now – with most of them dedicated primarily to Formula 1. Last year, Formula E was added to his roster. 

The 59-year-old travels around the world 280 days of the year.

Only rarely does he catch a glimpse of Modena, the city in Northern Italy he calls home. It’s also where his office is located, the headquarters of the DHL Express motorsport division. But good luck finding him sitting at his desk. The 59-year-old travels around the world 280 days of the year.
 
Like a big puzzle
At the end of May, he was in the German capital of Berlin for the first time on a racing weekend. “Weekend” is a bit of an understatement, for as Ferrari explains, he put sin about ten to twelve days of work on each race. In Berlin, the nearly soundless electric speedsters will be circling the tarmac at the city’s former Tempelhof airport - site of the historic Berlin airlift. “It’s a really a great place for a race,” says Ferrari.

“This kind of race is like a big puzzle, and it’s only complete once every single piece, no matter how small, is in its place.” 

Forty cars for 20 drivers from ten teams – Ferrari coordinates their transport around the world, all for this all-new, all-electric racing series. The Formula E cars arrived in Berlin from Monaco. But the cars aren’t the half of it, not even close. “Tires, generators, tools, tents, team equipment and a whole lot more,” Ferrari says. “This kind of race is like a big puzzle, and it’s only complete once every single piece, no matter how small, is in its place.” 

267 truckloads

With just two days to go before the start of the DHL Formula E Berlin ePrix, many of the pieces are already in place. Nonetheless, Ferrari literally still has one heavy duty challenge ahead of him. In addition to the usual equipment, which weighs a crushing 200 tons, the concrete track barriers also had to be shipped to Berlin. Unit weight: Four tons. “That’s 267 truckloads in total,” says Ferrari. But that wasn’t all, he continues: “We also had to be extremely careful positioning the barrier walls because the whole area has been declared a historic site.” That includes the old concrete slabs of the airport tarmac.

There’s nothing routine about Formula E for Ferrari, who explains the new challenges the series brings. “Almost all of the races are held in inner cities. And of course, the restrictions you face from municipalities are quite different from those at permanent race tracks.” But not even something like that can rattle a man of experience like Pierluigi Ferrari. Donning his sunglasses and headset, he’s ready to put the next piece of the puzzle in its proper place.

Watch highlights of the Berlin ePrix here!

See the London ePrix preview here!