The Art Of The Perfect Pit Stop

The Team Red Bull's performance this season has been nothing short of dominant. Adrian Newey's design gave the RB7 performance where it mattered and right out the gate, it has been lightyears ahead of any of the competing Formula 1 cars. What's more, Sebastian Vettel's talent behind the wheel earned him a total of 15 pole positions, one more than the previously held record by Nigel Mansell in 1992. Simply, not once did Red Bull Racing ever lose a grand prix to another opponent due to a lack of outright pace.

But Red Bull isn't invincible and a race can be won or lost by tire choices and pit stop strategies. A well oiled pit crew can save a team's race and a bad wheel gun could tear their race apart. If a Red Bull gets caught behind a McLaren and has trouble completing a pass even though its capable of turning a faster lap, the team might rethink their strategy and dive into the pits a lap early to rejoin with fresh tires and clear air. At the same time, if the McLaren does get passed and has trouble taking back the position from the Red Bull or trouble maintaining the gap, he may follow the Red Bull into the pits and hope that new tires or a quicker pit stop can send him ahead again.

Here are a selection of pit stops, some perfect and others disastrous, that display the importance and dynamism of what an array of mechanics must do within 4 short seconds.


The first video examines Force India's pit crew and the roles of each mechanic. Note that the 2009 season was the last season that permitted refueling during a pitstop.