HOW NOT TO LOSE A RACE IN TWO SECONDS
The pressure is as high as the stakes. Formula 1 pitstops are a miracle of precision under stress: an army of 23 mechanics changing four tyres in less than three seconds, a process choreographed and endlessly practiced in pursuit of near-robotic levels of repeatable perfection.
Get it right, as in Russia this year – when Lewis Hamilton used the Virtual Safety Car and a 2.6-second stop to usurp Charles Leclerc’s lead – and you can be victorious. Get it wrong and the consequences can be severe, as in Monaco 2016, when a last-minute decision to switch compounds cost Daniel Ricciardo the win: he arrived as the mechanics were still scrambling in the cramped confines of the garage to locate the required rubber.
“They should have been ready. It hurts,” said Ricciardo
