For the longest time, Red Bull has had the fastest pit crew. Technically, it still does. It’s just that it no longer holds the record for the fastest pit stop ever. Back in 2019, at the Brazilian GP, Max Verstappen secured pole position on Saturday and won the race on Sunday. Not only was he the fastest driver on track, but he was also the fastest driver in the pits. Ever. That day, Red Bull recorded a 1.82s pit stop, a new world record. But it all changed at the Qatar GP as Lando Norris and McLaren rained on Red Bull’s parade. 

In Qatar last weekend, Pirelli imposed an 18-lap tire usage limit on new tires. That meant that drivers would have to change tires at least three times. For a team, that would amount to six stops in a race. Pit crews prepared themselves for the increased pressure and those many more heart rate spikes, and guess who rose to the challenge? Norris and McLaren! Did they get recognized for what they did? If you thought yes, think again.

World champion Max Verstappen > Podium-sitter Lando Norris

The Qatar GP was always going to be tough on the drivers. The high humidity, high temperatures, high-speed corners, plus Pirelli’s tire usage limit made for pretty bad conditions to race in. The increased number of pit stops also made it one of the most high-pressure races pit crews have worked in. Despite that, when Lando Norris came in for his second stop, McLaren pulled out a 1.8s stop. To put it into perspective, McLaren changed all four tires—a total of over 40kg—quicker than you can say ‘1.8-second pit stop.’

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To celebrate this mega achievement, The Fast And The Curious Podcast hosted McLaren’s Car Operations & Engineering Director, Charlie Hooper, and Norris’ No.1 mechanic, Kyle Moreira. Considering it was the fastest pit stop ever, co-host Betty Glover asked them if they got a trophy. Moreira replied, “I don’t think so. We only get it for the most fastest, which is the DHL Pit Stop Award, which will go to Red Bull this year.” $31 million-worth DHL became F1’s logistics sponsor in 2004. In 2015, the sponsor introduced the Fastest Pit Stop Award to “recognize outstanding teamwork and performance from the unsung heroes who make a vital contribution to the drivers’ success on the track.” Where’s McLaren’s trophy, then, DHL?

Hooper explained, “You’ve got the Drivers’ World Championship, you’ve got the Constructors’ World Championship, and DHL brought in a similar championship. Every race, the best stop for each driver from the team—so only two count—basically scores… it’s actually the same as the world championship points. At the end of the year, the fastest pit crew—not necessarily the fastest overall, but the fastest consistently—get awarded a trophy from DHL in a bit of a championship. It’s a nice thing that’s going on in the background that the teams fight for.”

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The fastest stop in a race gets 25 points. The second gets 18, then 15, down to 10th place. Red Bull has been pretty consistently fast throughout the season, which is why it’s in the lead. Having won the Fastest Pit Stop Award in 2022, the Milton-Keynes team is on its way to winning it this season as well. But just because it will win the overall award doesn’t mean it doesn’t want the world record back.

Red Bull is out to seek revenge on Lando Norris & Co. 

Pit crews are the perfect example of how much of a team sport F1 is. A pit stop can literally make or break a driver’s race. Red Bull is one of those teams that almost never get pit stops wrong—apart from being extremely quick. So it makes sense that it’s the defending champion. Until the Qatar GP, it had the DHL board in its garage that said Red Bull held the world record for the fastest pit stop. Now that it’s gone to McLaren, Red Bull wants it back.

One of the Milton-Keynes squad’s most prominent mechanics, Calum Nicholas, sent warning shots to McLaren. He said, “Those guys worked super hard on their pitstops, they put in the hours, they’ve done an amazing bit of work. So not annoyed at McLaren at all. On the other hand, I would very much like it back. I imagine that all of my colleagues feel the same way. So now it’s just a case of get your head down, get practicing, and let’s see if we can get it, get it back to where we believe it belongs.”

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Should DHL hand out an award for the fastest pit stop in a race instead of just a year-end one?