A brand new examine commissioned by the FIA revealed that it takes greater than 20,000 volunteers per yr to adequately organise Formulation 1’s 24 grands prix weekends, at a median of 838 per weekend.
Motor racing is the worldwide sport that depends on volunteers essentially the most for the secure operating of its broad pyramid of occasions, from grassroots racing all the way in which to its vary of world championships.
To extra adequately map out the lay of the land, the FIA commissioned a report by its FIA College to quantify the wants and affect of its current volunteering corps, in addition to make suggestions for the longer term. To collect this information, researchers performed a survey of the FIA’s Sporting Organisers Working Group representing the organisers and promoters of F1’s 24 grands prix.
A key metric to come back out of the report is that it took a median of 838 volunteers, nearly all of that are marshals, to run an F1 grand prix in 2025 – this equates to a 20,112-strong workforce for the whole 24-race calendar. The report stated volunteers work a median of 48 hours per race weekend, extrapolating that determine to 965,376 hours per season, with two thirds taking annual go away or unpaid holidays with a view to work at a grand prix. It additionally states the whole value related to the coaching and recruiting of those volunteers is 11.1 million euros per yr, with the whole labour worth estimated at 13.2 million.
Marshals at work on the Singapore Grand Prix
Photograph by: Filip Cleeren
These numbers additional solidify the FIA’s need to widen the worldwide pool of volunteers and additional help them, as their common workload has gone up by an estimated 20%. Inside F1 specifically, there’s a rising need to professionalise roles like race management and stewarding to additional solidify consistency in determination making. A brand new Concorde Governance Settlement between the FIA and F1 administration, which was signed on the finish of final season, is predicted to offer the governing physique with extra sources to assist enhance its officiating.
Among the suggestions made by the report are to nominate a welfare officer to take care of volunteers, funding in analysis and expertise, and implement a extra systematic {and professional} mannequin of volunteer administration.
The FIA has already made steps in that regard with its new officers division, which goals to centralise and homogenise the coaching that’s performed at a neighborhood stage to make sure the proper requirements are maintained throughout members golf equipment and occasions.
It has additionally put collectively a excessive efficiency programme to establish and prepare the following technology of stewards and race administrators, providing alternatives for proficient officers to graduate to wider roles inside racing. The primary class of six stewards graduated to roles inside FIA-sanctioned championships final yr. Three race administrators from the programme shall be deployed in 2026.
The report additionally backs the FIA’s plans for a brand new centre of excellence, a devoted officers coaching centre to spice up its high quality and amount of officers.
This new pathway for official coaching is necessary each for F1 and for different sequence as a result of motorsport requires a gentle provide of officers to occasions in years to come back. One constructive discovering from the report is that almost all of volunteers is sticking round for no less than 5 years, citing the coaching, camaraderie and alternatives to develop throughout the sport as a few of principal drivers to remain concerned regardless of the private value.
Rui Marques, the FIA’s F1 race director, began his motorsport official profession as a marshal at Estoril.
Photograph by: Mark Sutton / Formulation 1 by way of Getty Pictures
Talking to Motorsport.com final yr, F1 race director Rui Marques stated the love for motorsport led to him changing into a marshal on the age of 18 earlier than graduating to extra senior roles.
“I used to be ready to show 18 to turn out to be a marshal,” Marques stated. “What I discovered is a household, wherever you go all over the world. It is all concerning the ardour for the game. Now we have colleagues in race management who nonetheless volunteer as marshals once they have time.”
Marques witnessed the welcome pattern of F1’s marshalling corps changing into youthful lately, which has been linked to the sequence’ mainstream success by way of Netflix sequence Drive to Survive. “Sure, in Europe the age of the volunteers was getting larger and better,” he stated.
“Do not get me unsuitable, we wish and respect everybody. A few of them have 30 years of expertise, which can be necessary. However we will now see extra youthful folks arriving, which is basically good.”
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