Sitting inside the car during the pit stops, one would assume that the drivers are hardly aware of the time they spend while stationary. The difference between a fast and slow stop can often be as little as 0.2 seconds and one would surely not feel any contrast. However, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez reveal that the reality is quite different.
In F1, the role of a pit crew is nearly as important as that of a driver in determining the outcome of a race. One slow pitstop can lead to a driver that’s winning the race by a decent margin, even falling out of the podium positions.
Addressing the questions of the fans in the Red Bull podcast, the teammates answered whether or not they could feel a quick pitstop. Verstappen was the first to answer the question by saying yes, as Perez agreed. The Dutchman said that a fast stop feels like one quick motion with all four tires going off and coming on in one flow.
“You can feel it because it’s just, like, attached to your body.”, he said.
4 lastik ne kadar kisa sürede degistirilir ?
2019 Brezilya GP’sinde Aston Martin Red Bull Racing ekibi bu isi 1.82 saniyelik sürede gerçeklestirerek hem Max Verstappen’in zafer kazanmasinda önemli bir rol oynadi hem de bu alanda bir dünya rekoruna imza atti.#f1 #pitstop pic.twitter.com/42TIZcnInp— hangilastik (@hangilastik) April 26, 2020
Whereas a slow pitstop is generally indicated by one of the tires not being in sync with the rest. Perez claimed it was funny that even a two-second stop felt slow to the drivers.
“You might feel like it’s really fast, but in the car, it feels like you’re there for ages,” claimed the Mexican driver. The words make more sense when one looks at the consistently fast pitstops by Red Bull, who have mastered the art of pitstops.
Red Bull remain one of the fastest teams to complete a pitstop
During the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, Red Bull registered a record pitstop with a time of 1.82 seconds [which stood until 2023]. As Lewis Hamilton, serving a five-second penalty, tried to undercut Verstappen on Lap 20 of the race, the Austrian outfit wanted to cover him off. Thus, they decided to bring the Dutchman in and produce a quick pitstop.
The fastest pitstop in the history of F1, Mclaren GP Qatar 2023; 1.80 seconds. https://t.co/k6gwgutzoi pic.twitter.com/t4OFdOT6Ds
— Edwin Bustos Ibarra (@ejbiicT) March 15, 2024
What unraveled was beyond anyone’s imagination as they completed the entire process in a mere 1.82 seconds and set Verstappen off on his way to victory. Sitting inside the car, Verstappen felt the pace of the pitstop and claimed it to be “quite quick.”
However, McLaren would come after the record four years later and take it off Red Bull’s hands. Lap 27 of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix saw the McLaren pit crew service Lando Norris’ car in a mere 1.80 seconds, setting a new record.
