Formula 1®
DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award: 2016 FORMULA 1 GERMAN GRAND PRIX
Pit stop champions Williams finally reclaimed their title in Germany. Mercedes produced the fastest tire changes of the last two races, but at Hockenheim, it was again the turn of the team led by Sir Frank Williams to work fastest. So, Williams have taken the award for the fastest work in the pit lane in ten of twelve races during this current season, making them the undisputed 2016 DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award champions of the season first half.
The Williams crew changed Felipe Massa's tires in two seconds on his first pit stop in Germany, which was just a fraction down on best time of anyone, also set by the team from Grove, in the European Grand Prix at Baku; their time of 1.92 seconds in Baku was better than the previous pit stop world record set by Red Bull in 2013.
Still, Mercedes produced the second-fastest work of the weekend for Lewis Hamilton with a time of 2.12 seconds. But teams were generally a bit quicker off the mark at the Hockenheimring as regards pit stops than they had been in the UK or Hungary. The slowest tire changes there had been in the order of 3.36 or 3.24 seconds, and yet in Germany, the slowest pit stop was accomplished in less than three seconds – 2.99 seconds by Haas.
Three-stop strategy
In the 2016 Formula 1 German Grand Prix, more teams opted for a three-stop strategy which should also be the fastest according to Pirelli. Mercedes and Red Bull initiated the first round of tire changes. Rosberg and Verstappen headed for the pit lane on Lap 11 and bolted on another set of supersofts. However, Hamilton, Ricciardo (Red Bull), Vettel and Räikkönen (Ferrari) went for the soft compound.
The second round of pit stops began on Lap 27. Rosberg was again the first of the leading group of drivers to come into the pits and opted for soft tires. Verstappen did the same one lap later, but Vettel, Räikkönen and Hamilton bolted on supersofts. Rosberg came into the Mercedes pits for the third time on Lap 44, selecting soft tires once again just like Vettel and Hamilton had done. Red Bull, however, went for supersofts on their final pit stop.
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