Formula 1 world champions Red Bull Racing have come up with a revolutionary ‘blind’ pit stop.
During what was a dominant season in 2023, Red Bull won all but one race, with Max Verstappen clinching his third successive F1 world title.
Although Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez are the stars of the show. The effort put in behind the scenes by the pit crew, mechanics and race engineers cannot go unnoticed.
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Over the years, the Red Bull pit crew often come out on top when it comes to the fastest pit stops, having won the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award six times in a row.
Now, the team have come up with a new concept, ‘The Pitch Black Pit Stop’, which was a challenge set for the pit crew to complete the sport’s first-ever pit stop in total darkness. You can watch the footage below.
Each member of the pit crew had their helmet visor blacked out as they did three practice pit stops before being plunged into total darkness.
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The team’s first attempt at a blind pit stop was 8.84 seconds. Within four attempts, they managed to slash the time to just 4.93 seconds.
With the team in total darkness, their target was to complete a stop in three seconds.
In the end, the team managed to pull out an incredible 2.84-second stop, which is only a second off their world record time which was set during the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2019.
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Speaking about the challenge, Red Bull Racing Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley said: “The Pitch Black Pit Stop was a challenge we could literally never see coming our way as a Race Team.
“But, in typical Red Bull fashion, we have come to expect the unexpected.”
Wheatley continued: “The sense of sight, being able to see the car, your teammates and what you are doing are intrinsic to a successful pit stop, so having that taken away presented some serious hurdles.
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“However, what soon became clear is how fluid the Team are in their approach, communication, ability and cohesive spirit; that the task at hand was almost second nature.
“I was really proud of their performance. The time of 2.84 seconds is a strong stop even in broad daylight!”
You can watch the full video of the Pitch Black Pit Stop challenge here.
Topics: Formula 1, Red Bull Racing
Marcus Chan