Turkish GP: Pit Stop Summary

The Turkish Grand Prix set the record for the number of pit stops since the start of the 2011 season, with 81 times through the hands of the mechanics. Thirteen of the 23 drivers who started the race were on a four-stop strategy. Seven of them were among the top eight finishers, with Button being the only representative of the three-stop drivers. Jérôme d’Ambrosio stood out with a two-stop strategy.

Not only did Sebastian Vettel secure pole position and the victory, but he was also the most efficient driver in the pits. The German held the best average per stop (20.402 seconds), having also recorded the best stop of the weekend at 20.112 seconds, never exceeding the 21-second mark during his three other stops.

The Red Bull mechanics were in great form as the team was the most efficient with an average time of 20.701 seconds per stop for its two drivers. The 2010 World Champions were ahead of Force India, Lotus Grand Prix, and Toro Rosso. Mercedes, although one of the benchmarks in this field, was only 5th with an average time per stop of 21.360 seconds, largely due to the nose change on Michael Schumacher’s W02. However, the team achieved the 2nd and 3rd best stops of the weekend, with 20.308 seconds for Rosberg and 20.379 seconds for Schumacher.

The German team is ahead of Ferrari, whose average was hampered by the poor stops made on Felipe Massa’s car, while McLaren, which experienced several issues on both its cars during its stops, is only the 9th team in this specific ranking.

Note that Pastor Maldonado was penalized with a drive-through penalty, which was not included in his average.