Formula 1®

DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award: 2017 FORMULA 1 PIRELLI BELGIAN GRAND PRIX

Key Takeaways

  • Mercedes complete DHL Fastest Pit Stop at Spa
  • Lewis Hamilton bolts on fresh tires in 2.35 secs
  • Williams maintain lead in DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award

Mercedes get off to a flying start after the summer break and complete the DHL Fastest Pit Stop of the 2017 FORMULA 1 PIRELLI BELGIAN GRAND PRIX with a time of 2.35 seconds.

Mercedes take DHL Fastest Pit Stop at Spa

The Mercedes pit crew were on impressive form in the Belgian Grand Prix as F1 restarted after the summer break. The Silver Arrows performed a tire change in 2.35 seconds on Lewis Hamilton’s car, thereby securing the DHL Fastest Pit Stop at Spa-Francorchamps.

Mercedes, however, were only marginally in front of Toro Rosso, who turned around Daniil Kvyat in 2.36 seconds and were thus only a hundredth of a second slower. The third-quickest stop of the twelfth race of the season went to Ferrari. The Scuderia fitted Sebastian Vettel with new tires in 2.50 seconds.

Plenty of pit stops in the Ardennes

Unlike the majority of races held so far this season, the Belgian Grand Prix of Belgium was not a one-stop race, as drivers had to come in at least twice to change tires due to high tire wear.

Crews completed a total of 40 pit stops at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, 14 of them in less than three seconds. Most of the stops were on Laps 29 and 30 when drivers used the safety car period to bolt on fresh tires for the final stages of the race.

While Hamilton chose the soft compound, Vettel went for ultrasofts, hoping to take P1 from the British driver. While his plan did not work, Vettel secured the DHL Fastest Lap on the softer compound and set a new track record at Spa.

Fastest pit stops: 2017 FORMULA 1 PIRELLI BELGIAN GRAND PRIX

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 2.35s
Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) - 2.36s
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) - 2.50s
Felipe Massa (Williams) - 2.51s
Kevin Magnussen (Haas) - 2.62s
Felipe Massa (Williams) - 2.62s
Romain Grosjean (Haas) 2.64s
Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) - 2.70s
Kevin Magnussen (Haas) - 2.74s
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) - 2.80s

Williams maintain lead in  DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award

While Williams did not take victory on the day this time, the British team still lead the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award with 299 points after the twelfth race of the season. Mercedes on 259 are their main rivals, followed by Red Bull (179) and Ferrari (140).

Next race: FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO HEINEKEN D’ITALIA 2017

Formula 1 heads next to Monza for the 13th race of the season and the Italian Grand Prix which will mark the end of racing in Europe this season. Red Bull have completed the DHL Fastest Pit Stop at the Autodromo Nazionale over the past two years. In 2016, Daniel Ricciardo was turned around and sent on his way in 1.98 seconds. Daniil Kvyat’s tire change took 2.10 seconds in 2015.

 

Posting Guidelines

All communications on Logistics of Things should be appropriate for a professional community, respecting the diverse views of individuals from different backgrounds. We will review all comments and reserve the right to terminate or restrict access to user's account and to delete any content posted through it, without notice and at our discretion, if we deem it to be overly promotional, offensive, or off topic.

All posting become property of DHL.