Formula 1 racing games with pit stops

Mechanics at the pit stop Three mechanics stand ready at each wheel, one with a wheel gun to loosen the nut and tighten it up again, one to remove the old wheel and another to put the new one back on. Ideally, they do everything from where they are positioned without having to move either themselves or their equipment. Normally, the same people stand at the same wheel throughout the whole year, so that the routine becomes completely automated. There are also two mechanics to lift the car and lower it back down, one at the front and one at the back.

Lights In the modern-day Formula One, many teams have replaced the famous 'lollipop man' who gives the signal to drive off, with traffic lights which can only be switched to green when the mechanics on all four wheels and to the front and rear signal that everything is okay by hitting a button.

It's a responsible position, because there may be a mechanic still working on the car or perhaps traffic approaching from the rear. Setting off in the pits Setting off is almost like starting. The revs have to be right, then the driver puts the car back into gear again. The driver depresses one or the other, depending on which way he intends to exit the pits, to the left or right.

This is a more intuitive action for the driver to follow while steering. The front and rear jack men use special tools to lift the car for more manageable tire replacement. Four tire carriers remove the old tires while another four replace it with a new set. Two more members operate the stabilizers on each side of the car.

If there is damage, the front-wing men adjust the wing angles or replace the entire front wing. Another crew member stands by with a hand-held fire extinguisher in case of an emergency.

The final member guides the driver in and out of his pit box. Pit stops remind people that F1 is as much a team sport as any other. Behind the shiny cars and exhilarating races lie a group of people working in perfect harmony to ensure every gear is in place and optimal condition. After all, success in any sport requires preparation, accuracy, and teamwork.

Skip to content Blog Posts. Payton O'Reilly June 3, am. The evolution of pit stops Pit stops have gone a long way from the first F1 championship in the s. In the s, pit stops had an average time of almost 67 seconds. Fifteen years later, an effective pit stop was about 45 seconds. In the early 70s, this time dropped to almost 27 seconds. At the beginning of the next decade, for the first time in modern F1, it was ruled that cars can stop for refueling during the race, rather than just for new tyres; and the average pit stop time was 11 seconds.

In , the in-race refueling was banned for the first time, leading to progressively faster pit stops almost 8 seconds. At the beginning of s the average time was close to 6 seconds; but in , the team of Benetton recorded a tremendous pit stop time of 3. The in-race refueling was banned once again at the end of Currently, the average pit stop time, lasts approximately This breathtaking time and speed in the pits is due to a culmination of years of development, learning and improvements in technology.

Summing up, pit stops are becoming faster and faster through the years as the sport caught up to the reality that pit stops play an important part in a Grand Prix outcome. Teams gradually involved more and more people at the process. In s, the typical pit crew team consisted of four engineers, while today the same number is twenty. When the car visits the pits every action needs to be done in a matter of seconds. While drivers and engine manufacturers usually receive most of the praise for a victory, the members of the pit crew are the unsung heroes.

The picture below, presents the twenty pit crew members the 21 st is the driver one by one. Numbers 1 and 11 are the rear and front jack respectively. Their role is to raise the car off the ground by using a modified version of a car jack, so that the wheelmen can operate easily while switching the tyres. Number 10 is the backup front jack having the same responsibilities with the front jack. Then, for each one of the four wheels of the car, there are 3 different members of the pit crew staff.

The first one, the gunner, is responsible for initiating the removal of the wheel from the car and is armed with a pneumatic gun in order to loosen the nuts; the second one called first tyre carrier removes the wheel and the last one called second tyre carrier is responsible for putting on the new tyre to the car.

All of them, are responsible of switching as fast as possible all of the four tyres. Firstly, the tyre gunners 3, 7, 14 and 19 remove the wheel with their pneumatic gun, and after that the second member of the crew 2, 8, 13 and 18 removes the wheel and allows the third one 4, 6, 16 and 20 to put in the new wheel to the F1 car.

Once this is done, the tyre gunner removes the gun and raises it in the air to signal the lollipop man that work on that wheel is over. The lollipop man number 15 is operated by the chief mechanic and is responsible to oversee the whole procedure. The rest of the crew members are responsible for a variety of extra contingent duties. From the agile tyre carriers to the jack men, all members of the pit stop crew need to be quick and efficient.

As established above, the pit stop time is crucial during a race. This chapter focuses in the last two seasons of F1 championship and presents the top10 pit stop times during these seasons. Nico Rosberg won the drivers champion with points leaving Luis Hamilton in the second place with points. Based on the abovementioned graph, Williams was the most efficient team at pit stops, by having 7 out of 10 fastest pit stops from the abovementioned top10 list under 2. Furthermore, Felipe Massa with Williams achieved the fastest pit stop that year at 1.

In the abovementioned graph, Williams with driver Felipe Massa achieved the fastest pit stop time with 2. Red Bull with driver Max Verstappen got the tenth best time of the top10 list with 2.