It’s been suggested today that those working in Formula One should feel privileged that there are a record breaking twenty-one races on the calendar this year. Hmm.

Don’t get me wrong. I know that I am one of the special few who work in Formula One and get to travel to race tracks all over the world. I have done things that I never thought I would, met people that I only ever thought I would see on a silver screen and participated in wins, losses, championships, heartbreaks and plenty of late nights partying.

I’ve been doing it for eleven years. Eleven long years that are taking their toll as my hair gets a little greyer (and has a tendency to fall out), my knees moan at every staircase I climb and my ability to stay awake after 11pm is tested with regular occurrence. I work in the sport because I love it, I enjoy it and there is still something about that Thursday morning fire-up that stirs something deep in my soul.

21 races this year is great for the fans. We’ll travel far and wide and set up garages, race tracks and hospitality facilities and chase each other in circles for a couple of hours – then pack it all up and do it again the following week – and usually on the opposite side of the globe that we were on the week before.

Many folks don’t realize that Formula One begins a whole week before the race – and that’s not including the logistics of getting the whole kit there. So when you’re sitting on your sofa thinking ‘this time next week the cars will be zipping around Albert Park’, you can guarantee that members of each and every F1 Team will already be out there, setting up garages, hospitality facilities and beginning to put the spectacle together.

Later in the week, the main bulk of the circus arrives and then it his fever pitch, as the scramble to get everything unpacked and put away before the cameras turn on and the media pitch up – most of whom (not all) turn up on a Wednesday afternoon. Then we go racing, spray some champagne and pack it all up again.

Usually when we think about F1 we think about the people we see on the telly. The drivers, the odd member of the pit crew, that kind of thing. But spare a thought for the masses each weekend:

Formula One Management Staff – at every race

Official Ticketing Partner Staff – at every race

Formula One Communications (TV) staff – at every race

Official Logistics Partner Staff – at every race

Motorhome Build Staff – at every ‘European’ race

Motorhome Build Staff – at every ‘Fly away’ race

Catering and Motorhome Hospitality Staff – at every race

Paddock Security Staff – at every race

Race Team Staff – at every race

Race Drivers – at every race

Race Drivers Trainer – at every race

Press Media – at every race

Television Media – at every race

Television Presenters and Crew – at every race

Paddock Club Build Staff – 19 of 21 races

Paddock Club Logistics – 19 of 21 races

Paddock Club Catering Staff – 19 of 21 races

Team Paddock Club Staff – 19 of 21 races

Paddock Club Official Catering Staff – 19 of 21 races

… and that is just for starters.

What nearly every fan forgets to think about is the human cost of racing week in week out. This year, race team members will spend the best part of 26 weeks away from home. Races, tests, tyre tests – in total it works out to be around six months of the year. Six months. That’s quite a stretch. And I know of people who work in F1 logistics who spend around 3 months of the year in total at home. Yes, it’s a life that you choose and you can either do it, or you can’t. But there’s nearly always collateral damage.

What I mean by that are those that are at home. The wives, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, family, children, dogs, guinea pigs – you name it. It’s those who are at home who feel it most. There is a group called ‘F1 Widows’ and there is a reason for it – because that is sadly what you become. When you join F1, you join something akin to a religion. It’s all encompassing, it’s powerful, it’s challenging and it demands an awful lot of your time, love and attention.

Having said that, I’ve seen ham fisted hairy backed mechanics reduced to tears whilst on Skype to their young children, working away on a back-to-back. I’ve witnessed the heartache of a divorce, wives unable to take the strain of the constant travel. I’ve heard arguments, tantrums, love and adoration. It takes a strong person to be involved in a job that has so much travel – and an even stronger partner that is left behind.

There is a lot of divorce in the sport. Its a sad fact – but it’s true. There is also an awful lot of romances that bloom within the sport as you spend a great deal of time together. Some stand the test of time, others are the need for close physical comfort and attention – and let’s face it, basic human need. And before you ask, it’s not uncommon to see intra-team relationships bloom.

To those who remain behind and do the school runs, put the kids to bed, pay the bills and keep life ticking over, I take my hat off to you. It is a massive commitment to be involved with someone involved in the Greatest Show on Earth and the small amount of time you all get the spend together as a family is prized.

Enjoy every hug. Every sock on the floor next to the laundry basket. Every spoon left in the sink.

2016 is going to be a long year.