And what is crazy? Nothing is ever perfect even in the pits despite the preparation and attention to detail. We have witnessed races that have been lost through a one misplaced wheel nut or a missed tire change. Just think of this, running a blameless race, you had a good lap, good overtaking, everything was good, and then bang, you spent 3 seconds being off the marks in the pit and you lose your first place to the 5th. The world of Formula 1 is that jovial.
The 2021 Monaco Grand Prix passed with one of the most legendary pit stop failures that occurred to Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes took him to change tires and it went wrong badly since they had not timed this well. He lost position in the race and failed to come back. Monaco is among the toughest places to overtake and therefore that pit stop practically ruined his race. Then we have the legendary 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, in which Valtteri Bottas crashed and triggered a chain-reaction collision that forced several drivers to retiring the early, first-few-corners mess on the track, and sheer chaos in pits.
But when pit stops work? Oh boy, it is poetry in motion. As an example, consider Red bull racing. Their pit crew has a record of the fastest stop in F1 history 1.82 seconds. Just think of it–before you can yell, Go! it is placed back on the track. It is so mind-boggling to see how they do it with so much finesse. The movement is all choreographed, and it strikes me as a dance of wrenches, wheel guns, and split-seconds.
More amazing is the way pit stop is changing over time. Snap decisions are taken using the real time data that teams now use. Sensors are everywhere on the tires, inside and outside the car and inside the track. Engineers are able to tell the tire usage and track conditions in a matter of some laps. They will even change their pit strategy around during a match because of safety cars, crashes, or weather changes. The sport has now become that smart and responsive.
And even then we nickname it atrociously as the pits. One that is spelled and pronounced like the dirty garage of one of the ancient mechanics has taken on a new meaning and this means one of the most advanced and futuristic aspects in the racing world. No one pays any Joke on the irony of the situation. But the thing is, that is part of the charm. It is a lesson that despite all of the carbon fiber, wind tunnels and hybrid engines, old school still has a place in the sport. In old-school lingo. As modest a-sounding thing as the pits.
Therefore, when you are in a F1 race and you hear, “This man is going down the pits”, take it easy because you are watching more than a vehicle being parked. It is decades of evolution in several square meters. It is history and innovation in a single scorching second of speed, collaboration and planning. Believe me, the pits are not merely the pits in Formula 1, where heroes are born, and once in a while the races can be lost.
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