In Formula 1, pit stops are made for a tire change or for damage to the car. The reason for this is that the tires cannot last the entire race. An average pit stop time is around 3.65 seconds. During these 3.65 seconds no fewer than four tires are changed. To meet this time every time, the mechanics practice every day. Would you like to know more about the Formula 1 tire change? Then read on!
Formula 1 tire change
In Formula 1, pit stops are made to change tires and make possible damage to the front or rear wings. Refueling is not allowed during this pit stop. This takes a lot of time and in Formula 1 every second counts.
The pit stop looks like this:
- First, the car has to be lifted off the ground, this is done by two jacks at the front and rear.
- After this, two mechanics come to keep the car stable by holding the car.
- Then the wheels have to be changed, for this no less than three people are needed per tire. The three mechanics all have a task. The first has the wheelgun and unscrews and tightens the tire. The second takes off the 25-pound tire and the third puts on a new tire.
- When all the new tires are on and the other adjustments to the car have been made, the jack operators lower the car back to the ground.
- Then a person constantly holds some kind of traffic light and as soon as he thinks the driver can continue with the race, he turns it off.
This is in short the tire change of Formula 1.
Choice of tire type
When changing tires in Formula 1, there is a choice of several types of tires, there are 5 in total.
- White tire (hard tires)
- Yellow Tire (Medium Tires)
- Red tire (soft tires)
- Green belt (intermediates)
- Blue belt (wet)
The choice of tire naturally depends on several factors, such as weather, track, tactics, and others.
The hard tire needs more time to warm up. This tire has less grip and speed, but unlike other tires it lasts longer. This means fewer pit stops per race, which takes less time.
The medium needs slightly less time to warm up, has slightly more grip and speed, but also lasts less time than the hard tire.
The soft tire warms up faster and has more grip and speed, but this tire lasts the least. You can therefore drive faster laps with this tire, but they also have a shorter lifespan. You will therefore have to change tires several times during the race, which also takes time.
There are also two tires for when it rains. These are the intermediates and the wets. The intermediates do well on a wet circuit, but also when it is drying up. When there is too much rain on the track, the drivers have to switch to wets. This tire can move 85 liters of water at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour.
Record tire change
The fastest tire change in Formula 1 was Max Verstappen’s tire change. This happened during the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2019. In no less than 1.82 seconds, 4 tires were changed and a small adjustment was made to the front wing.
Rules changing tires Formula 1
Every weekend the F1 teams are allowed to take 13 sets of 4 tires, so there are some rules to the F1 tire change. They also receive 4 sets of ‘intermediate’ tires. It is also mandatory to change tires at least once per race in Formula 1. The drivers must have driven on two different tires. Since 2021 there are new rules for the F1 tire change. The racing stables must be able to demonstrate that the mechanics manually check that the wheel is really stuck.