1.82 Seconds To Change 4 Tyres Of A Formula 1 Car

Published in

Formula One Forever

13 min readDec 9, 2020

The magic of Formula 1 pit stops — the story and passion behind it.

Formula 1 is the most prominent of motorsports with millions of fans worldwide. Each year, Formula 1 teams, composed by a multitude of professionals (drivers, car engineers, R&D staff, technical & mechanical officers, team managers and others) compete through a series of races, ultimately aiming to win the most coveted championship in motorsports — the Formula 1 Championship.

Doing that is no easy task. Apart from a great driver, the formulation of an effective team race strategy is necessary. The strategy is adopted and implemented differently in each one of the twenty-one Grand Prix of the Formula championship, and one of the most important features that comprise it, is the Pit Stop strategy.

Importance of Pit Stop Strategy

Formula 1 pit stops are one of the most intense and exciting features of a Grand Prix. In fact, races are frequently won and lost because of the pit stops and the pit crews, as a stop of a few seconds can give the competition a lead of a few hundred meters. Therefore, the pit stop time during a race is crucial for a Formula 1 team.

In just a few seconds, a great number of actions (change of tyres, mechanical repairs, adjustments to the wings and many more) are carried out by Formula 1 teams’ pit crews.

Because of that, every F1 team must design an effective race strategy plan during a Grand Prix based on the special characteristics of each race.

Part of this strategy is the decision of when is the right time for a car to have a pit stop, which tyres should be used and of course taking into consideration what the competitors might do. For example, releasing a car from the pits into a convoy of slower cars is typically avoided, as it will cost time; and in Formula 1 even milliseconds are precious.

So, it is very important for a Formula 1 team to be able to plan and implement a flexible pit-stop strategy during a Grand Prix.

Over the years, the pit strategy has become one of the most critical features of the race. The pit stop time is so crucial during a race that it can even determine the final positions on the podium.

So What Is A Pit Stop?

A “pit stop” is when a Formula 1 car stops in the “pit-box “ of a team’s garage during a race for quick maintenance, change of tyres, mechanical repairs or adjustments and many other actions.

The pits are located on a pit lane which is parallel to the start/finish line and connected to the main track. The pit lane has a row of garages (one per team), where the pit crews are waiting, ready to make every required action.

Usually, Formula 1 pit crews consist of about twenty mechanics, who move in perfect harmony, around a Formula 1 car to change a set of tyres, make adjustments to the front and rear wing, repair any mechanical issues and any other needed repair actions in as short a time as possible.

For pit crews who practice this ‘choreography’ thousands of times in a season, a delay of even 1/10th of a second might cost a position in the podium for the driver and the team. F1 teams formulate a plan during the race, of whether or not a car will come into the pits at different stages of the race, always taking into consideration the number of pit stops required in every separate Grand Prix.

The number of pit stops during a Grand Prix typically depends on the track and the general race circumstances such as the weather conditions. Usually, each driver makes an average of 2 pit stops per race (not taking into account unpredictable events). Sometimes teams also have been known to win races by adopting a 1 pit-stop strategy, and sometimes even a 4 pit-stop strategy.

An unscheduled or extended pit stop, such as a sudden mechanical problem or a broken front wing, or a puncture, can be very costly to the driver’s chance of success. Because while he is in the pits for service, his competitors on the track, are gaining time on him. For this reason, the pit crews undergo intensive training to perform every possible pit stop operation as quickly as possible.

Pit Stops Through The Years

When the F1 championship began in 1950, pit stops were a fairly disorganized affair. But through the years, as the sport became more professional and the cars more advanced, the importance of a well-drilled pit stop became more crucial.

Pit stops tended to be disorganized, long and often chaotic as late as the 1970s — especially when a driver came in to make an unscheduled stop. The age of the modern pit stop arrived when changes were implemented to F1 regulations in 1994, by allowing in-race refuelling. The rule of refuelling lasted until 2009. After the last readjustments on the regulations, a driver’s visit to the pits became breathtaking in both speed and efficiency.

In the 1950s, pit stops had an average time of almost 67 seconds. Fifteen years later, an effective pit stop was about 45 seconds. In the early 70s, this time dropped to almost 27 seconds. At the beginning of the next decade, for the first time in modern Formula 1, it was ruled that cars can stop for refuelling during the race, rather than just for new tyres; and the average pit stop time was 11 seconds.

In 1984, the in-race refuelling was banned for the first time, leading to progressively faster pit stops (almost 8 seconds). At the beginning of 1990s, the average time was close to 6 seconds; but in 1993, the team of Benetton recorded a tremendous pit stop time of 3.2 seconds (nowadays, that time would be considered to be a relatively slow pit stop).

The next year, FIA (Federation Internationale de l’ Automobile — F1 governing body and committee) decided to change the rules on Grand Prix races and allowed in-race refuelling, causing a bit slower average pit stop time at almost 8 seconds (the amount of fuel, rather than the tyre change, became the critical element at pit stops).

The in-race refuelling was banned once again at the end of 2009. Currently, the average pit stop time lasts approximately 2–2.5 seconds. Anything above 3 seconds is scoffed at. This breathtaking time and speed in the pits are due to a culmination of years of development, learning and improvements in technology, but most importantly the passion of the mechanics who execute the pit stop.

The official world record belongs to Aston Martin’s Red Bull’s F1 team with 1.82 seconds during the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. The pit crew changed all of the four tyres of Max Verstappen car in 1.82 magical seconds. He went on finish first in that Grand Prix. Red Bull also beat their previous world record pit-stop time of 1.88 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsCriICZ-nA

Anatomy Of A Pit Stop — A Closer Look

As the driver comes into the pits at the right time, he brings the car to a halt in the pit-box exactly where his pit crew is waiting. At this moment, every action needs to be done in a matter of 2–3 seconds.

This team of well-drilled mechanics are about to do something really extraordinary — perform a pit stop during which all four tyres are changed, the driver’s helmet visor is cleaned and adjustments are made to the wings and fix any mechanical problem over a very short time, as every millisecond counts.

Every single member of the team knows precisely what they have to do. They follow a fixed set of protocols & processes using the tools and technology provided by the team to give them the best chance of achieving the magical pit stop.

While drivers and engine manufacturers usually receive most of the praise for a victory, the members of the pit crew are the unsung heroes. The 20 man crew (these days there are some women also as part of the pit-crew team), have to perform 36 tasks in perfect synchronization in 2–3 seconds

The picture below presents the 20 pit crew members (the 21st is the driver) one by one.

The Magical Pit Stop In Slow Motion

This is how it all pans out in those 2–3 seconds —

Rear & Front Jack (Nos. 1 & 11) — Their role is to raise the car off the ground by using a modified version of a car jack so that the wheelmen can operate easily while switching the tyres. Number 10 is the backup front jack having the same responsibilities as the front jack.
The front jack man stands just outside the pit-box waiting for the driver to go from 200 mph to 50 mph in the pit lane, and then stop at his feet so that he can slide the specially designed jack under the centre of the front wing and lever the car into the air. The front jack has to be located precisely, engaged positively with the car and activate instantly.
The same front jack man must then watch as his colleagues perform their tasks and when they are completed, hands raised to signal that their jobs are done. He has to be ready to drop the car back onto the ground and step out the way, removing the jack from the path of the car to enable it to power it's way back down the pit lane.
The rear jack man engages the rear jack as soon as the car is stopped, and since the mechanic has to wait for the car to enter the pit-stop box, he comes a fraction of a second after the front jack has been engaged.
The rear jack man now has to wait until he sees the rear wheels have been fully located on their hubs, the wheelmen moving back before he can drop the car onto the ground. For the rear jack man, there is the added complication that the rear wheels transfer the 900 bhp produced by the engine to the track, so it's vital that the wheels are back on the ground before the driver drops the clutch and wheel-spins his way out of the pit-box. Dropping the car onto the ground with the wheels spinning can be a recipe for disaster.
Tyre Gunners — There are 3 different members of the pit crew for each one of the four wheels of the car.
The first one, the gunner, is responsible for initiating the removal of the wheel from the car and is armed with a pneumatic gun in order to loosen the nuts. (These pneumatic wheel guns are powered by compressed air or nitrogen and operate just like the ones in an average garage, except they spin at 10,000 rpm).
The second one (called first tyre carrier) removes the wheel and the last one (called second tyre carrier) is responsible for putting on the new tyre to the car. All of them, are responsible for switching as fast as possible all of the four tyres.
Firstly, the tyre gunners (Nos. 3, 7, 14 and 19) remove the wheel with their pneumatic gun, and after that, the second member of the crew (2, 8, 13 and 18) removes the wheel and allows the third one (4, 6, 16 and 20) to put in the new wheel to the Formula1 car. Once this is done, the tyre gunner removes the gun and raises it in the air to signal the lollipop man that work on that wheel is over.
These three mechanics have 4 tasks to perform inside 3seconds, wheel nut off, old wheel off, new wheel on, wheel nut on. That works out at 0.75 seconds per task. When you multiply that operation by four, you have 12 mechanics each facing the same extraordinary challenge.
The Lollipop Man (No. 15) — is operated by the Chief Mechanic and is responsible to oversee the whole procedure. He is like the conductor of the F1 pit crew ‘orchestra’ and he is also responsible for letting the driver know when he can move on again.
Wing Adjustments (Nos. 9 & 13 )— These mechanics are responsible for making small wing readjustments for better aerodynamics on the car. This is carried out by means of quick-release mechanisms on the front wing flaps which allow for the angle of the wing to be increased or decreased, while on the rear wing a “Gurney” flap, which is a long thin vertical addition to a typical wing, is altered or even removed entirely. Again, as with the wheel change, the time frame is 2 seconds
Stabilizing and Cleaning (Nos. 5 & 17) — These two mechanics’ job is to stabilize the car, which balancing on centrally mounted jacks front and rear, can be in danger of rocking towards either side. They step forward and grab the central roll hoop, watching their colleagues changing the wheels before stepping aside as the jack men drop the car back to the ground. These mechanics are also responsible for cleaning the driver’s visor.

Only after all these tasks are done with utmost precision, the pit light control system — partly-automated system (invented by Ferrari) signals that the driver and his car is ready to leave his slot. The lights are linked electrically to the jacks and wheel guns, and once all the jacks are off, the driver is finally given the signal to accelerate away.

All this happens in flat 2–3 seconds..!

The duties of a pit crew are typically given based on their physical attributes rather than their ability to do a specific job, as the members would be able to handle the pressure of any role given to them.

Tyre men tend to be more agile in order to quickly change the car’s wheels, while the jack men are required to be more physical so they have the strength to lift the car under intense pressure.

The only permanent role is the Lollipop man, which is operated by the chief mechanic. He stands near the front of the car (No. 15 in the graphic) and oversees the whole procedure while also operating the controls; releasing the car once the pit crew completes the stop.

Overall, from the agile tyre carriers to the jack men, all members of the pit stop crew need to be quick and efficient. As a result, pit-stops are always hectic moments in a team’s race and require absolute concentration and precision from each member of the team.

The pit stop time is the key to success in the race and teams know it better as every year they spend hundreds of hours of training to achieve as fast as possible pit stops during races.

Make sure to watch the Top 10 fastest pit stops of 2019 and get amazed at the lightning-fast reflexes of all the 20 mechanics operating under intense pressure, while at the same time performing a well-orchestrated symphony.

Final Thoughts

In the 1950s, the typical pit crew team consisted of four engineers, while today the same number is twenty. Moreover, many improvements have been made to pit crews’ equipment aiming to minimize the time it takes to service the cars. Teams gradually involved more and more people at the process.

The most incredible part of that evolution is that there is almost a 96% reduction in pit stop time from the 1950s to nowadays.

From the 1 minute (or more) stops of the 1950s to the current swift stops of 2–3 seconds, the pit crew members have always put in their best effort to change tyres, make readjustments and repairs in order to help their team to reach the podium.

So while the driver may be the one getting all of the attention, Formula 1 is as much a team sport as any other; and this is nowhere more evident than in the pit stop. Every member of the pit crew working hard with completely fast, precise and coordinated moves from fixing and repairing all the mechanical issues to just changing the tyres.

Pit stops are becoming faster and faster through the years as the sport caught up to the reality, that pit stops play an important part in a Grand Prix outcome.

The only question to ponder upon is whether the pit stop times can be reduced any further in the future? My verdict — it is very much possible.

So, to wrap it up — if you have enjoyed reading this article and are now more pumped up to understand how all this happens, watch this Formula One documentary — Pit Stop in 2 seconds. It's a good 45 mins run, so go make yourself a drink first.

Be the first one to receive exclusive and fascinating Formula 1 stories as soon as they are published.