Anatomy of a pit stop: How do F1 teams service their cars in less than two seconds?

Just as the crew are assigned positions for handedness, there’s also a desire to ensure everything is operating at the same speed: if the crew on one side of the car is regularly quicker than the other side, that tends to throw the car off-balance, and slows things down.

The stabilisers have perhaps the most variable job in a pit-crew: alongside holding the car steady, they’ll also be responsible for wiping the drivers’ visor, performing a steering wheel change if necessary, clearing debris from radiators or, potentially, when the car pits with a puncture or for a nosebox change, operating the side-jacks.

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The crew chief

Every team uses a traffic light system for their pit stops, the old lollipop long having been made redundant by the semi-automated system of lights. The go/no-go decision remains in the hands of a human, with a senior member of the team – usually the chief mechanic – responsible for operating the lights and releasing the car.

They’re getting confirmation lights from the gunners, via the gantry, confirming the correct torque has been applied to the wheels; they’re looking around the car to make sure everything that needs to happen has happened, and finally, they’re looking down the pit lane to ensure their car has space to exit the box safely.