Red Bull smash world record for fastest F1 pit-stop after taking just 1.82 SECONDS

Max Verstappen’s victory at Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix was already memorable for the way he passed Lewis Hamilton twice on the circuit to land his eighth F1 win.

But there was another cause for celebration among his mechanics after they set a new F1 record for the fastest ever pit-stop during the race at Interlagos.

With a service time of just 1.82 seconds, the team managed to stop the Dutchman’s car, change all four tyres and then set him on his way again.

In three-quarters of a second the team have already removed all the wheels of his car

Just over a second later, Verstappen has a brand new set of tyres and is leaving his pit-box

It was his first pit-stop during the race and was crucial in his battle to emerge on the track in front of Lewis Hamilton who had already pitted and was looking to take the lead in Sao Paulo.

Unfortunately for Verstappen, Red Bull’s hard work in the pit-lane was all for nothing as he was immediately obstructed by the Williams of Robert Kubica that was dangerously released in front of him, forcing him to slow down and take evasive action. 

Kubica was hit with a penalty for getting in the way, which resulted in Verstappen emerging behind Hamilton on the track.

Verstappen drives down the pit-lane after his world record stop as Robert Kubica is serviced

But Williams released Kubica in front of Verstappen (hidden by pillar) causing him to slow

However, less than a lap later Verstappen made the first of his two passes on Hamilton during the race, using his slipstream on the start/finish straight to regain the race lead.

Red Bull’s time beat the previous record also set by them during this year’s German Grand Prix by just six hundredths of a second. It is the third time they have set a new record during the season.

In addition to the record stop, the team put in the third quickest (2.12 seconds) and fourth fastest (2.17 seconds) of the race among the nine other teams on the grid. 

The quick times are a far cry from the early days of Formula One when pit-stops were less urgent. Here the great Juan Manuel Fangio shares a discussion with his team while his Alfa Romeo car is serviced during the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix

Benetton were among the first teams to look for the marginal gains in a pit-stop with their quick times of around six seconds (including re-fueling) during the early 1990s

The ultra quick times are a far cry from the early years of Formula One when drivers even had time to chat to their mechanics as their car was serviced in the pit-lane.

It was not until the early 1990s when the Benetton team started to use the pit-stop as a way of gaining crucial time during the race and chasing marginal gains.

Although their pit-stops of around six seconds at the time seem like an age compared to today’s racing, they did also have to refuel the cars. A practice no longer required with refuelling banned from modern F1 racing. 

Verstappen’s stop was part of a battle to emerge from the pit-lane in front of Lewis Hamilton

The ultra quick time was the third time they had broken the world record this season

Verstappen (second front right) celebrates his and the team’s win at the Brazilian Grand Prix