Every millisecond counts in F1, with races won and lost by the finest of margins. A quick and clean pit stop is a vital part of an F1 team’s race strategy. Express Sport has taken a look at the slowest and fastest stops in the sport’s history – including Mercedes’ 2021 tyre mistake.
A speedy and smooth pit stop is a key part of an F1 team’s race plan. Mercedes says their team does around 60 practice pit stops during an F1 race weekend with 22 pit crew members taking part. Thursday is thought to be the most crucial day, with most of the pit crew’s practice happening then.
Twelve out of the 22 crew members concentrate on changing the tyres, with three people working on each tyre. One person will be loosening and tightening the wheel nut, another will be taking off the old tyre while the third puts on the new tyre chosen by the team strategists, reports the Express US.
However, to change the wheels on an F1 car, it needs to be lifted on the front and back jacks by a crew member and teams usually have two extra people off to the side with spare front and back jacks, just in case. Two people stand in the middle of the car to keep it steady while it’s balanced on jacks as two others wait on the front wing adjust.
Finally, one crew member watches over the pit stop and lane traffic before giving the driver the go-ahead to return to the race. For a pit stop to be as quick as a flash, it takes teamwork.
In recent years, Ferrari has seen its own share of mishaps during pit stops, including running over a wheel gun at the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix.
Fastest F1 Pit Stop
The quickest pit stop in F1 was clocked at an incredible 1.80 seconds by McLaren’s team on Lando Norris’ car at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. They beat Red Bull’s previous record by just a hair 0.02 seconds on the 27th lap at the Qatar race.
Yet it remains to be seen how long this record will stand, with Red Bull’s senior engineer Rich Wolverson suggesting they can aim for 1.6 seconds. Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley went even further, hinting at times as low as 1.45 seconds.
“On the front axle you get 1.45s, 1.48. I look at a pit stop and I see a thing of beauty when it goes as it should do. And it’s that human contribution to motor racing, which I think is extraordinary,” said Wheatley.
Slowest F1 Pit Stop
At the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas, who was then the second driver for Mercedes, faced a major hiccup. The Finnish driver was in second place for most of the race until Lap 30 when disaster struck – one of his four tyres stubbornly refused to come off.
This resulted in an astonishingly long pit stop of 43 hours and 15 minutes due to the troublesome tyre, spoiling his almost point-scoring race.
