Formula 1®
DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award: 2018 FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
Key Takeaways
- Red Bull Racing secure first DHL Fastest Pit Stop of 2018 in Australian Grand Prix
- Max Verstappen equipped with new tires in 2.15 seconds
- 20 pit stops during Formula 1 season opener in Melbourne
Red Bull take DHL Fastest Pit Stop in Melbourne
Red Bull Racing’s crew were on top form for the season opener in Australia and secured the first DHL Fastest Pit Stop of 2018. Red Bull changed the tires on Max Verstappen’s car in 2.15 seconds – no other team were faster.
Ferrari completed the second-fastest pit stop at Albert Park for Kimi Räikkönen in 2.39 seconds. The third-fastest stop went to Red Bull Racing. Local driver Daniel Ricciardo’s tire change took 2.45 seconds.
"We saw some fantastic work from the pit crew, starting the 2018 season as they mean to go on and scoring the fastest pit stop of the grand prix", said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
The season opener was a classic one-stop race due to low levels of tire wear with only Brendon Hartley, Charles Leclerc and Lance Stroll needing two pit stops. Of the total of 20 tire changes, seven took less than three seconds.
However, this did not include the pit stops of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. The two drivers, who dueled for the race win, were turned around in 3.01 and 3.03 seconds respectively.
Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, whose tire change took just 2.72 seconds, was faster than Vettel and Hamilton. However, the Haas crew were probably a bit too fast and did not tighten Magnussen’s tire properly, so he had to retire his car shortly after leaving the pit lane.
The same fate befell Magnussen’s teammate Romain Grosjean. The safety car was sent out on track in order to recover the Frenchman’s car, which was to Vettel’s advantage. Unlike Hamilton, he had not yet made his stop and went into the lead which he maintained at the checkered flag.
Top-ten pit stops in the 2018 FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
- 01 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 2.15s
- 02 Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) - 2.39s
- 03 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) - 2.45s
- 04 Lance Stroll (Williams) - 2.53s
- 05 Kevin Magnussen (Haas) - 2.72s
- 06 Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso) - 2.80s
- 07 Charles Leclerc (Sauber) - 2.98s
- 08 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) - 3.01s
- 09 Esteban Ocon (Force India) - 3.03s
- 10 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 3.03s
DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award: Red Bull Racing take the lead
Having executed the fastest and the third-quickest tire change of the race, Red Bull Racing lead the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award after the season opener with 40 points. Ferrari are behind them on 20 points ahead of Williams (12), Haas (10), Toro Rosso (8), Sauber (6), Force India (2) and Mercedes (1). Renault and McLaren missed the Top Ten for fastest pit stops in Australia.
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