De snelste F1 pitstops ooit en de regels uitgelegd

Pit stops in Formula 1 are lightning fast. Blink once and Max is already in the pit lane to continue the race. This is partly made possible by the number of people allowed to work on the car. There are many other factors that have made pit stops faster and faster over the years. Curious how this has come about? Sit back and read on!

Fastest pit stops in the past five years

Over the past five seasons, there has only been one team with the fastest pit stops. You probably guessed who? Indeed, Red Bull Racing. From 2018 to 2022, Max's team has been the quickest to put fresh rubber on the car. So what was the fastest of the five I hear you thinking. That was in 2019 at the Brazil GP. Then the stop lasted just 1.82 seconds. As we have said before, blink and it's already over.

The fastest F1 pit stop of 2023

Max's team has been knocked off the pitstop throne in 2023. In fact, McLaren's team was two hundredths of a second faster. This is an instant record. 1.8 seconds to change a pair of tyres is really mega fast. Do you think you can keep up with these speeds? 2024 will be a very interesting year thanks to this record. What do you guys expect? Are Max and Red Bull Racing going to beat this record even further?

What is Max's fastest pit stop?

Max's fastest pit stop was in Brazil 2019. As such, Max stopped for just 1.82 seconds then. Thanks in part to this lightning-fast stop, Max managed to win the Grand Prix. Fact: This Grand Prix was only the 8th win of his career. How long did it actually take for this record to be set? Not long, in fact, that same year Red Bull Racing had already broken the record at the Hockemheimring with 1.88 seconds.

What are the rules in the pit lane?

There are very strict rules in F1's pit lane. Let's start with the order of teams from start to finish. This is because the rules are that the winner of the constructors' championship gets the first garage of the pit lane. So in the order of these results, the teams are allocated the garages. Then you have the speed limit that applies in the pit lane. On most F1 circuits, the maximum speed allowed is 80 kilometres per hour. In the extreme cases like Monaco, for example, only 60km/h may be driven. This is only a fraction of all the rules in the pit lane. For example, you are also not allowed to walk or stand in the pit lane during an F1 session unless you need to work on the car.

How did pit stops used to go?

Everything used to be different. This, of course, is what we hear everywhere. So is the case in F1. A lot of things used to be different when it came to the pit stop and the pit lane. Pit stops used to be slower. This is because the cars were still allowed to refuel during the race. This has not been allowed since 2010, as it obviously caused life-threatening situations. If we go back further to the 1980s, we also see, for example, no speed limit in the pit lane yet. Drivers were allowed to go through the pit lane at race speed, which therefore also often resulted in dangerous situations. So have conditions improved? Let us know!

What do you think of the pit stops?

What do you think of F1's impressive pit stops? Should they be even faster? In your opinion, should refuelling the car return? These are all elements that are now banned in Formula 1 due to safety concerns. Do you think pit stops in Formula 1 will be further restricted? We are curious to know what you think. Let us know!