(Motorsports news) The world championship-winning team, well-known for its eccentric public relations efforts, taught its pit crew how to execute the infamous “pitch black pitstop” in honor of taking home the DHL Fastest Pitstop Award for six years running. The team that averages the fastest pit stops over the Formula One season wins the trophy; this year, Red Bull finished ahead of McLaren and Ferrari in the rankings.
The 22 members of the pit crew were “fully plunged into darkness” in a pitch-black workshop following three blindfolded practices, during which their helmet visors were also covered in black. After ten tries, they improved their time from 8.84 seconds on the first try to 2.84 seconds, which is quicker than some teams can do in a racing weekend.
The driver, along with the front and rear jack operators, wore night vision devices provided by the military, while the tyre replacement crew worked in complete darkness. “Having your sense of sight taken away presented some serious hurdles,” Red Bull’s sporting manager Jonathan Wheatley said. “The sense of sight, being able to see the car, your team-mates, and what you are doing are intrinsic to a successful pitstop.”
But it quickly became apparent how adaptable the team is in terms of approach, communication, capability, and team spirit—the task at hand felt nearly effortless. I was quite pleased with how they performed. Even in broad daylight, the time of 2.84 seconds is a forceful halt. Not that I would want to switch off the lights during a race, but the fact that the crew was able to complete this task so quickly and efficiently in the dark is evidence of their efficiency and the reason we have won the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award six times in a row.
Prior to Lando Norris’s pit crew at McLaren beating Red Bull’s timing of 1.82 seconds during this year’s Qatar Grand Prix, Red Bull had also held the world record for the fastest F1 pit stop during a Grand Prix. Now, it stands at 1.80 seconds. With their powerful RB19, Red Bull won all but one grand prix in 2023, and Max Verstappen won a record 19 races to win his third consecutive world title.
Also read: Todt believes the FIA ought to have canceled the 2008 Singapore GP F1 result
