Mercedes needs to review its pit stops

Mercedes no longer shines with its pit stops. For two seasons now, the German team is no longer a model in terms of tire changes. For some teams such as Red Bull and McLaren recently, these quick stops are real assets in the race. However, the difficulties that Mercedes encounters do not benefit their drivers. At best, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell do not lose time, otherwise they are penalized. This phenomenon was reflected again in Austin this weekend.

Stops that are expensive

During the first relay, Lando Norris is in the lead of the race, followed by Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen. On the 17th lap, the Red Bull driver decides to return to the pit to anticipate the tire change of the two British drivers. The pit stop lasts 2.5 seconds.

In the next round, it’s Norris who covers the strategy by stopping at the pit. The tire change lasts 2.8 seconds. The two stops made by Red Bull and McLaren are not specifically fast, however Mercedes will experience new difficulties during the pit stop at the 21st round. The immobilization will last 3.6 seconds, allowing Norris and Verstappen to take a lead of more than five seconds.

On the 39th lap, during the second stop, the mechanics of the Mercedes team hardly do better with a stop of 3.4 seconds.

At the end of the race, Hamilton finished 2nd two seconds behind Verstappen and certainly paid for the two bad passages in the pit lane. « I think we would have been in a position to fight with Max », said the seven-time World F1 Champion after the Grand Prix. « I think we made the task more complicated than it probably should be. »

Review the stops

At the end of the race, Toto Wolff, was aware of the mistakes. The director of Mercedes favours the idea of equipment not being adapted enough rather than a human error. « We need to avoid very slow pit stops », he declared. « Now, we are in a situation where we realize that the competition has become so intense that we need to step up our game on this matter. This concerns the equipment and the science that surrounds it, as well as our configuration, in order to avoid pit stops of 3 to 3.5 seconds, because all of this played a role on the final result. »

Finally, Hamilton does not pay dearly for these hesitant stops since he has been disqualified at the end of the race.

Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren at the top of tire changes this season

Motors Inside has analyzed all the pit stops of the F1 2023 season, and Mercedes is indeed behind compared to its direct competitors on the subject of pit stops.

In 2023, Mercedes made its best stop in Bahrain with Lewis Hamilton in 2.4 seconds. This ranks this stop in 68th position of the fastest stops this season, up to Qatar, the US GP not being taken into account.