Formula 1
FIA to slow down Formula 1 pitstops from Hungarian GP
Formula 1's fastest pitstops are set to be slowed down on safety grounds from the Hungarian Grand Prix, after a clampdown from the FIA.
Adam Cooper Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jun 28, 2021, 9:48 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Citing safety concerns, motor racing's governing body has addressed complaints that the stops of some outfits are faster than can be achieved by following the current rules to the letter.
The suggestion is that some stop procedures may involve a higher degree of automation than is expected, and this has allowed teams to achieve record-breaking times.
F1's technical regulations contain a reference to pitstops which states that sensors must act passively.
Article 12.8.4 is clear that: "Devices which are used to fit or remove wheel fasteners may only be powered by compressed air or nitrogen. Any sensor systems may only act passively."
It is understood that the latter segment of this rule is what the FIA wants to ensure is being followed. Although it is not thought that the FIA move is aimed at a specific outfit, the aim is clear that any reliance on automatic procedures opens the door for potential danger at the stops.
Therefore, in a note sent to all F1 teams ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, it said that, from the Budapest race in August, teams pitstop procedures must have a tolerance built in that allows for human reaction times in signalling.
Read Also:
- Perez hopes Red Bull F1 contract talks "don’t take too long"
- Hamilton: Talks with Mercedes over new F1 contract are underway
- Hamilton: F1's return to capacity crowd at British GP "premature"
- How F1's biggest crisis helped trigger its exciting 2021 season
The figures are 0.15 seconds from wheel nuts being observed to be tight to the jack man being told to drop the car, and 0.2 seconds from the jacks going down to the driver receiving the go signal.
F1 is no stranger to ensuring that human reaction times are taken into account – with such a tolerance being put into driver responses at the starting lights to judge when a driver has jumped the gun. If a driver starts too soon to have reacted after the lights have gone out, that can still be a false start.
The FIA does not disclose what the exact tolerance is for the start, though, for fear that if it was made public then teams and drivers would try to exploit the number to boost their getaways.
The new technical directive notes: "For safety reasons we would furthermore expect the minimum time offset between the initiation of the jack release procedure and the OK signal to the driver given by the green light to be at least 0.2 seconds."
The wording for the 0.15s wheel nuts on to jack man signal gap is similar.
Teams have been given three races to prepare for the new requirements as they may need to change their procedures and it could cause trouble to force them to do so without enough time for preparation.
Fastest pitstops of 2021 so far
Pos. Team Driver Event Time (sec) 1 Red Bull Verstappen BAH 1.93 2 Red Bull Verstappen AZE 1.98 3 Red Bull Verstappen POR 1.98 4 Red Bull Perez BAH 2.00 5 Red Bull Verstappen MCO 2.02 6 Red Bull Perez FRA 2.04 7 Aston Martin Stroll POR 2.08 8 Williams Russell AZE 2.13 9 Alfa Romeo Raikkonen AZE 2.13 10 Aston Martin Stroll ESP 2.16
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Schumacher sitting in a "crooked position" in Haas F1 car
Next article Valencia 2012: How Schumacher scored his final F1 podium
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Latest news
How Qatar red flag helped Johann Zarco put Barcelona crash behind him
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
20 min
How Qatar red flag helped Johann Zarco put Barcelona crash behind him
McLaren to upgrade MCL40 car at its bogey F1 track Las Vegas
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
1 h
McLaren to upgrade MCL40 car at its bogey F1 track Las Vegas
Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish
General
Misc General 6 h
Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe