What is a Formula 1 pit stop?

Before we get started - check out the full F1 2025 schedule and how the entire F1 race works!

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What are the elements of an F1 pit stop?

'Box box' - one of the most famous radio messages in Formula 1. You'll hear it from nearly every driver and team.

What does this mean? Come into the pit lane and enter your pit box in front of the garage.

Garage positions are assigned based on the teams' constructors' championship finish from the previous season. The better you did - the closer your garage and pit box are to the pit entrance.

During this standard pit stop - the driver is in the pit lane and in the pit box for ONLY 20-22 seconds total on average.

However, while generally a pit stop is used for only changing the tires here are other things that can be done in the pit box:

• Adjusting aerodynamics
• Replacing a damaged part (generally would be the wings of the car)
• Serving a penalty

These other tasks will add more time on to the pit stop.

What do team members do during the pit stop?

Yeah... that's a LOT of team members.

The tire requires 3 people to remove the tire, put on the new tire, and handle loosening and tightening wheel nuts.

We always have to have backups for our backups regarding the jacks!

The car has to be steady when raised in the air!

AND, of course, someone has to confirm that it's safe for the car to exit the box - with 19 other cars on track and all.

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What are the rules of pit stops?

As expected, there are rules regarding pit stops - what the team can and cannot do, as well as safety protocall.

1. Pit stops ARE mandatory. Each car must drive on 2 different tire compounds during a race (see this article about tires to learn more)!
   Consequence: The driver will be disqualified UNLESS the race is suspended and can't be restarted. This would just factor in 30 seconds to their race time, instead.
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2. Mechanics MUST take 0.15 seconds or more to change tires and drivers must wait 0.2 seconds before leaving the pit box.
   Consequence: Likely a penalty for unsafe release.
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3. Speeding in the pit lane above 80 km/hr.
   Consequence: Penalty for speeding.
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4. Impeding a competitor while exiting.
   Consequence: Penalty for an unsafe release.

Some other notable rules are that, obviously, all of the pit crew members must wear proper FIA approved safety equipment and that the pit stop cannot be automated at all.
Additionally, while you may see this in other series like IndyCar - refueling is prohibited.

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How does race strategy come into play?

Naturally, with the pit stop not only impacting tire type (which impacts speed based on track conditions), but the actual lap time as discussed earlier, pit stops are some of the most important strategic plays in the F1 playbook.

Often you will hear drivers talking on the radio about "Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, etc..." - generally, they're referring to when to pit and how hard to push the tires before they wear them down and MUST pit.

Here are the two phrases you should know regarding F1 pit stop strategy:

Overcut

An overcut is when a driver will delay pitting in order to gain position while someone they're racing pits. Therefore, the driver will have what is called 'clean air' (no one in front of them) to set faster lap times and eventually come out in front while pitting.

Undercut

An undercut is when the driver pits early and uses their fresh and faster tires to get ahead of someone they're racing who will inevitably have to pit later.
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Penalties - denoted as 'stop and go's' can also play in to strategy - as this would add 10 seconds to a driver's lap time. If they want to serve it earlier in the pit box, while pitting, they can. This can help them regain time lost on the penalty with faster and fresher tires to be able to catch back up.

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DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award

Obviously, you can now see HOW MUCH goes into a pit stop. DHL - one of F1's sponsors - recognizes that and gives out an award for the "outstanding teamwork and performance from the unsung heroes who make a vital contribution to the drivers' success on the track".

The Fastest Pit Stop Award is given to the team that throughout the season has demonstrated the fastest pit stop based on points.

The team with the fastest pit stop during each race is given 25 points, second fastest team gets 18 points, and the third-fastest team gets 15 points.

The points are accumulated throughout the season, and the team with the most points at the end of the season wins the award.

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