Fastest F1 pit stops: Red Bull seal pit lane crown for sixth consecutive year

Sam Cooper
Max Verstappen in his pit box at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen leaves the Red Bull pit box.

In the time it has taken you to read this sentence, teams will already be close to changing an entire set of tyres on an F1 car. Formula 1 pit stops truly are a sight to behold.

Some of the world’s best mechanics complete a highly orchestrated choreography that somehow sees 42kg of rubber lifted off and replaced with a fresh set within seconds.

Such is the highly competitive nature of pit stops, something like three seconds can be seen as a slow stop and anything nearing 10 seconds is an unmitigated disaster.

While such a small amount of time may not seem like a lot in the outside world, it is crucial in the world of F1 where races or positions can be won or lost by a matter of seconds. Quick pit stops are also key in ensuring you come out ahead of your rival, especially if you are going for an overcut.

Red Bull is the undisputed king of the pit stop world with consistently quick times and is the clear leader of the overall championship of speedy stops but, at the Qatar Grand Prix in October 2023, their world record pit stop time of 1.82s set at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix with Max Verstappen’s car was beaten by McLaren.

The Woking-based team has lowered the benchmark to a phenomenal 1.80 seconds for the year. Over to you, Red Bull!

What are the 10 fastest pit stop times so far in F1 2023?

Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren keep the 10 fastest times all to themselves in the 2023 season – McLaren taking six of the quickest times of the year all on their own.

But the relentless consistency of Red Bull is what helped them stand out above the rest once again in the pit lane throughout the course of the season to win the pit lane standings.

The two-second barrier was broken four times in 2023, an even more impressive achievement than years gone by given the move to 18-inch wheels and heavier tyres as a result for crews to lift and manage in stops.

Here is the top 10 list for 2023 in full:

  1. McLaren – Norris – Qatar – 1.80s
  2. Ferrari – Leclerc – Qatar – 1.98s
  3. Red Bull – Perez – Hungary – 1.98s
  4. McLaren – Piastri – Las Vegas – 1.99s
  5. McLaren – Piastri – Qatar – 2.00s
  6. Red Bull – Verstappen – Netherlands – 2.01s
  7. McLaren – Piastri – Hungary – 2.01s
  8. Red Bull – Perez – Barcelona – 2.07s
  9. McLaren – Norris – United States – 2.07s
  10. McLaren – Norris – Austria – 2.10s

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F1 pit stop standings

As well as being measured by their times, it is also a battle for consistency with the teams being awarded points in the pit stop standings, through F1 sponsors DHL. While these points do not contribute to their Constructor standings, topping this table will see you rewarded with your own trophy.

The scoring system is the same as the race itself with the constructor behind the fastest pit stop of a Grand Prix awarded 25 points while the second gets 18 and so on.

Having taken glory in the DHL standings every year since 2018, Red Bull once again stand tall above everyone else to wrap up that particular title for 2023 as well.

Here are the top 10 standings in full:

  1. Red Bull – 543
  2. Ferrari – 468
  3. McLaren – 418
  4. AlphaTauri – 255
  5. Alpine – 191
  6. Aston Martin – 145
  7. Mercedes – 100
  8. Williams – 50
  9. Alfa Romeo – 38
  10. Haas – 14

Ferrari Red Bull

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