Remaining on the high isn’t straightforward, as Pink Bull demonstrated this yr. Regardless of dominating in 2023, the crew was unable to repeat its success within the Constructors’ Championship in 2024, the place McLaren claimed the crown.
Nonetheless, Pink Bull maintained its supremacy in a single space: pit stops. Since 2018, the crew has persistently topped this particular competitors, which rewards probably the most constant and dependable crew throughout pit stops every season.
Consistency is the cornerstone of this rating, and in a discipline the place steady investments and occasional small revolutions happen even in pit stops, staying on the high is a problem. Sauber exemplified this in 2024: regardless of preliminary struggles with new gear designed to enhance its efficiency in an space the place it had lagged in earlier seasons, the Swiss crew ended the yr as one of many quickest on the grid.
This demonstrates how a lot gear could make a distinction on this space and the way tough it’s to remain aggressive with out constant funding. Pink Bull has turned pit stops into one among its strengths, as fast pit stops can generally achieve positions or fend off assaults.
Trying on the statistics for the ten quickest pit stops of the 2024 season, Pink Bull seems on the checklist seven occasions, with McLaren and Ferrari sharing the remaining three slots. Unsurprisingly, McLaren and Ferrari rank second and third on this particular classification, reflecting their performances all through the championship.
Including to Pink Bull’s achievement is the truth that it recorded the quickest pit cease of the season, clocking 1.9 seconds in China. This report is shared with McLaren, which achieved the identical time in Mexico throughout Oscar Piastri’s cease.
Nonetheless, past the outright quickest time, Pink Bull’s consistency made the true distinction. This season, Pink Bull recorded the quickest pit cease in ten races, showcasing its reliability.
McLaren follows with the quickest pit cease in 5 races, together with a essential one in Abu Dhabi. At that second, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was closing in, however a number of tenths gained throughout the pit cease allowed McLaren to take care of a niche of about 1.5 seconds. A slower cease might need positioned Carlos Sainz on the sting of the DRS zone, rising stress.
Ferrari, in the meantime, recorded the quickest pit cease in 4 Grands Prix, with its quickest cease clocked at 1.94 seconds in Miami, simply 0.04 seconds off the season’s finest. Mercedes ranks fourth, adopted by Racing Bulls, which additionally had the quickest pit cease in two Grands Prix this season.
Alpine and Sauber observe, with Sauber overcoming early-season challenges with new gear—similar to changes wanted for wheel nuts—to complete the yr as one of many quickest groups. Sauber recorded the very best occasions in Baku and São Paulo, exhibiting that its investments paid off. The rating is accomplished by Aston Martin, Haas, and Williams.