DHL FASTEST PIT STOP AWARD
FORMULA 1® DELIVERED BY DHL
More than just stopping
A Formula 1® pit stop is much more than just stopping, changing tires and accelerating away. Perfect planning and absolute precision at breathtaking speed are needed to get it right first time. Pit stops are just one example of how Formula 1 is a team sport.
Outstanding teamwork
The DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award was established in 2015 to recognize outstanding teamwork and performance from the unsung heroes who make a vital contribution to the drivers’ success on the track.
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More than just stopping
A Formula 1® pit stop is much more than just stopping, changing tires and accelerating away. Perfect planning and absolute precision at breathtaking speed are needed to get it right first time. Pit stops are just one example of how Formula 1 is a team sport.
Outstanding teamwork
The DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award was established in 2015 to recognize outstanding teamwork and performance from the unsung heroes who make a vital contribution to the drivers’ success on the track.
Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2024
Hungaroring
Fastest Pit Stop Video
RB take their first DHL Fastest Pit Stop of 2024 but not everyone is over the moon
The race to secure the DHL Fastest Pit Stop has between two outfits for most of the first half of the 2024 Formula 1 season, namely, Red Bull and Ferrari. Hungary and the 13th grand prix of the year marked the arrival of a third force on the scene, though, with Team RB – but this particular DHL Fastest Pit Stop will be one to forget for Daniel Ricciardo.
Starting from P9 on the grid, Ricciardo and his team had wanted to achieve some decent points and maybe even attack the Aston Martins further up the field, but Ricciardo’s hopes came to naught after just seven laps. First, he lost two places at the start, and then RB’s strategists found themselves making an almighty cock-up as far as tactics are concerned.
They brought Ricciardo in for the first of two stops on Lap 7. Taking 2.01 seconds, the mechanics did an amazing job as they executed the DHL Fastest Pit Stop. The only problem was that it was much too early! Ricciardo had started on mediums and could easily have stayed out on track, but the guys responsible for strategy at RB reacted far too soon to drivers coming into the pits who had begun the race on softs and called their man in as well.
As a result, Ricciardo lost any advantage he might have had as regards tires and ended up stuck behind slower cars that were not all that slow, meaning he could not easily overtake them, as getting past other drivers can be very problematic at the Hungaroring. He lost a lot of time in traffic and had to make his second pit stop much too early in order to finally win back position again.
By then, any chance of a points-scoring finish had evaporated. And what was even more galling, Ricciardo’s teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, who had started behind him, took ninth place with just one pit stop. The Aussie driver complained bitterly after the race, saying: “On my inlap, I was waiting for the team to say, sorry, we messed up, but it never happened, which made me even more furious.”
An apology of sorts came later when team boss Laurent Mekies told us: “Unfortunately, we got it wrong with Daniel and pitted him too early in heavy traffic, which lost him a chance to fight for points. His pace had been extremely strong all weekend long, and he demonstrated that again in the final stint of the race when he was finally able to find some free air and fight his way back. We certainly share his frustration, and we will learn and come back stronger next week.”
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2024 Season
Overall Standings
Fastest Pit Stops of the season
Season Averages
How the teams’ pit stop times improved during the course of the season
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