Red Bull Achieves Peak F1 Offseason Content By Having Pit Crew Throw Down A 2.8-Second Stop In The Dark
We are very much in the doldrums of the Formula 1 offseason. There's not much happening, especially with every seat on the grid filled. So, what is a team that needs to generate social media content to do when car reveals are still months away? Well, Red Bull had an answer: make the pit crew do a pitstop in the dark.
And sure enough, they did exactly that last week.
Now, F1 fans will no doubt be aware that Red Bull has one of the most consistently fast pit crews on the grid. They took the DHL Fastest Pit Stop award last season, which is their sixth straight. Sure, the folks down at McLaren threw down a record 1.80-second stop in Qatar, but over 23 rounds Red Bull came out on top.
But, that was with the lights on. How did they fair with them turned off?
Just fine. Honestly, that was way more than just fine. They did that stop in 2.8 seconds. That would be a great stop on a race day. And that's one that they would have done during the daytime or under the lights.
I think this just speaks to some of the incredible muscle memory that these mechanics have. If you didn't know, for an F1 pitstop there are three people on each tire. One takes the old tire off, another puts the new one on, and then the last one operates the wheel gun.
There can be more than 20 people involved in a single stop, so all of those people did their jobs in sync — in the dark — in under three seconds.
That's more than just a neat trick for social media. That's incredible.
Especially in a sport where tenths of seconds gained or lost in the pits can make a massive difference.
Yeah, the RB19 will go down as one of the best cars ever made. Max Verstappen is one of the greatest drivers. But you can't underestimate the impact the Red Bull pit crew has had over the last few seasons and beyond.
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