As race morning in Shanghai dawned, the talk in the paddock was not of the afternoon’s forecast of rain, nor of the pecking order at the sharp end of the field.
No, conversation among all Formula 1 folk singularly focused on how they were going to get back home in the wake of the massive travel chaos caused by the Eyjafjallajokull volcano’s giant ash cloud.
With airlines across Europe being forced to ground planes and cancel thousands of flights for safety reasons, there seemed little hope of any F1 personnel successfully making the 12-hour, 9,000km journey from eastern China back into Europe without significant disruption.
Some individuals made the jump – heading first for Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur or Dubai in the hope of catching connecting flights back into mainland Europe.
But for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and our colleagues from Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines, finding safe passage for almost 100 people has proved considerably more difficult.
As ever, the team was well prepared: travel co-ordinators moved quickly to extend our stay at the Shanghai Hilton and remove the threat of further disruption and displacement.
Additionally, the sport’s travel agents have spent days attempting to source aircraft for charter to provide transportation for the 600-plus Formula 1 passengers currently holed up in Shanghai. With any future travel uncertain, and with airlines unwilling to sacrifice aircraft in case airspace suddenly re-opens, it has not been an easy task. Similarly, gaining permission from the Chinese authorities and the other territories required for onward passage has not proved straightforward.
The freight from Sunday’s race – including three MP4-25 chassis – has been packed differently in anticipation of it arriving back at the team’s base in Woking ahead of the race team. The cars have been specially stripped and are likely to be freighted to Bilbao within the next 24 hours.
At the moment, there is still no firm word on when the team will leave the city, although tentative plans exist for an elaborate route home via Hong Kong, our second home in Bahrain, northern Spain and a journey on land or sea back to the UK. Group CEO Ron Dennis has even taken a personal involvement in helping move the team closer to home.
Despite the disruption and the absence from our families and loved ones, we remain, as ever, a team and our spirits are high.
We are clubbing together: planning group visits in and around the city; sharing tips on restaurants, shopping and travel; Lewis’s trainer Clayton Green has even been providing fitness classes for team members in the Hilton’s gym!
Our Mandarin is slowly improving. Emails and phone calls back home are getting longer. Work is getting done. We all hope to be back home soon.