Red Bull’s Imperfect Start to the Season: A First Mistake in Austria
Austria, the scene of a rare event: Red Bull, the undisputed kings of pit stops in F1, made a mistake. This season, the team has been facing unprecedented pressure, as equality has reached an all-time high, and mistakes are being penalized.
The Austrian GP saw a crucial moment in Verstappen’s last pit stop, where the left rear wheel did not go in properly, resulting in a bad stop and allowing Lando Norris to re-enter the fight, ultimately leading to his demise.
One mistake can be overlooked, but Red Bull has still managed to maintain their lead in the constructors’ championship, drivers’ championship, and pit stop category, with a significant advantage over the second-place team.
This season’s pit stop classification has been distributed in an unfair manner, as it only values the best stop of each team in the races, regardless of mistakes made. Red Bull always tends to have the quickest stop of the weekend, thanks to their exceptional mechanics.
However, consistency is key in F1, and Red Bull’s average pit stop time classification remains unchanged, despite the mistake in Austria. With a season-long average time of 2.46 seconds, the team continues to dominate, even in the face of adversity.
Here is the current pit stop classification by teams:
- Red Bull: 2.46 seconds
- Ferrari: 2.67 seconds
- McLaren: 2.74 seconds
- Mercedes: 2.76 seconds
- Aston Martin: 2.77 seconds
- Alpine: 3.15 seconds
- Williams: 3.17 seconds
- Haas: 3.27 seconds
- RB: 4.65 seconds
- Sauber: 7.16 seconds
The gaps between teams are minimal, indicating maximum equality in F1, where every point counts. With this in mind, Red Bull cannot afford to sleep on their laurels, as mistakes can lead to lost points and opportunities for other teams to close the gap.