Red Bull Racing wins the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award 2018

As Official Logistics Partner of Formula 1, at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, DHL once again presented the DHL Fastest Lap Award for the highest number of fastest laps and the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award to the team that consistently achieved the fastest pit stops over the course of the season.

Valtteri Bottas, who is currently driving for the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport team, won the DHL Fastest Lap Award for this Formula 1 season. The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team received the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award which was only decided in the final Grand Prix of 2018 in Abu Dhabi. The DHL Fastest Lap Award and the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award were presented at the final Grand Prix of the season in Abu Dhabi on November 25, 2018.

DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award: Red Bull for the first time

This year’s DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award provided a close competition; decided in the final race of 2018, it went to the Red Bull Racing team. As Official Logistics Partner, DHL has been presenting this award to the team that has consistently been the best pit stop performer since 2015, rewarding perfect planning and absolute precision at breathtaking speed which are required to deliver the pit stop right first time. Pit stops are possibly the most visual evidence of why Formula 1 is a team sport.

This is the first time Red Bull has won the award, with the Mercedes team having won it last year. Sebastian Vettel and his Ferrari team achieved the fastest pit stop of the season at the Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo with a time of 1.97 seconds. Nobody managed to beat the world record of 1.92 seconds set by Felipe Massa for Williams in 2016 this season. All in all, there were 538 pit stops during the 2018 Formula 1 season.

The DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award was presented in Abu Dhabi by Emanuele Niri, the winner of a design contest organized by DHL earlier this year. The winning trophy design was selected by a high-caliber jury consisting of Ross Brawn, Managing Director, Motorsports Operations F1, Arjan Sissing, Senior Vice President Group Brand Marketing at Deutsche Post DHL Group and Ellie Norman, Director of Marketing and Communications F1.

The concept by Emanuele Niri won over the jury with its well-thought-out design, inspired by the components and tools that enable teams to push the boundaries of a pit stop. The synthetic-polyamide 3-D printed trophy symbolizes the teamwork, innovation and excellence of pit stops in F1, with elements of the trophy resembling the mechanics working side-by-side.

DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award Winners

• 2015: Ferrari
• 2016: Williams
• 2017: Mercedes
• 2018: Red Bull

Logistics for Formula 1

DHL has been involved in Formula 1 for over 35 years. As Logistics Partner, the company ensures that the demanding logistics requirements of the elite world of motor racing are met without a hitch. DHL delivers vehicles and replacement parts as well as marketing and hospitality equipment to race venues around the world via air, ocean and land freight solutions.

“As a company, we share many values with Formula 1. Speed, precision, teamwork and a pioneering spirit are just as important for our logistics as they are for Formula 1 drivers and teams,” explains Ken Allen, Global CEO at DHL Express. “Other customers – not just those involved in motorsports – also benefit from our decades-long partnership with Formula 1 and the expertise that we have gained from it.”