People of the Pit Stop: A Sporting Director's ViewDiscover the role of a Strategist during a pit stop.
In2021,forthefourthconsecutiveseason,wewontheDHLFastestPitStopAward.It’spresentednottotheteamthatdoesthefastestpitstopoftheyear(thoughwesnaffledthattoo–1.88sinHungary)butrathertheteamthatconsistentlydeliversthebestpitstopsoftheweekend.
We won it with 569 points, our highest ever total, which will please team management, and did the fastest stop overall in 13 of the 22 grands prix. This isn’t our record, though oddly, this also will please team management, and in particular sporting director Jonathan Wheatley.
Success, so they say, has many fathers, and certainly that’s true for our fourth consecutive pit stop trophy, but no-one in the team would begrudge Jonathan his signature on the birth certificate.
As sporting director, aka team manager, he’s responsible for pit stop performance, all the way through from selecting the team members for each position on the crew, through to calling them out into the pit lane as the car takes the pit entry. It’s Jonathan who collects the pit stop award at the end of the season on behalf of the team.
The Fastest Pit Crew In The World© Getty Images
Having a better overall score in 2021, without topping the timesheets every week (we were quickest in 15 of the 17 races in 2020) suggests a team working like clockwork, consistently punching in the good stops, and it is the consistency that is prized, rather than the bragging rights from any individual weekend. Jonathan will emphasise that headline times are not the aim: doing a repeatable, good stop week after week is.
“What we’re looking for is consistency,” he says. “I think a record stop just happens on the right day. If the 20-odd people involved in the pit stop are all having a perfect day, then it happens.
“The team’s had an extraordinary four years, [winning] the DHL Trophy four years in a row. I think that consistency, that desire to be the fastest, to be the best at what we do, and also to be the safest at what we do, it’s in the team: it’s in our bones here, it’s in our DNA.”
Three decades ago, as a young mechanic with the Benetton team, Jonathan learned his pit stop craft as a gunner in a record-breaking squad. He’s brought that ethos with him when he moved from Enstone to Red Bull Racing in 2006 and has moulded a pit crew that has regularly been at the top of the pile for more than a decade. The kit is considerably more sophisticated today than it was in the early 1990s, but it is human exertion and skill that remains at the heart of a good pit stop.
“Fundamental, you have to start off with somebody who has great core stability,” says Jonathan. “It’s human performance, a pit stop. It can often be confused for ‘oh, this bit of equipment, or that bit of equipment,’ but ultimately, it’s a human endeavour. So, we work very hard with the guys in terms of their mindset, and also with their core stability. You don’t want any injuries: you want the same people at the last race that were at the first race.”
Jonathan's Position On The Pit Wall Is Essential© Vladimir Rys
Jonathan’s seat on the pit wall is always the one nearest the pit entry, allowing him an unobstructed view down the pit lane to see cars coming in. From there, he’ll relay instructions to the crew, telling them when to come out into the pit lane, who for, which tyres to fit, how much front wing to wind on or off, plus any set-piece instructions, which may range from fitting a new nosebox to changing a steering wheel, cleaning the wing mirrors or clearing brake ducts of debris. His is the calm voice in what can often be chaos. There is, says Jonathan, a right way to do it.
“A pit stop starts several laps before the car comes in,” he says. “If everything is in order, then everyone’s mental state is right when they walk out. If it’s a rushed stop I think they’re in a different frame of mind, so the first thing is to get everyone into the correct mindset. I might talk to them a little bit, give them something to think about.
“Next the driver has to stop absolutely on the marks with no drama, so no-one is having to back away or adjust. Then everyone has to do their job properly. The gunmen have to get onto the nut correctly, the jackmen have to get on first time. That’s most difficult for the rear jack because he has to wait until the car has come past to engage it. You can be as fast as you like with the wheel nuts, but you can’t take the wheels off while the car is still on the ground.
“Taking the wheel off sounds like an easy job but it isn’t. They’re heavy, and the guys have to reach forward and shift the weight at an awkward angle. Then the new wheels have to go on without any fumbles, the jacks have to come away smoothly and the driver needs to have his reactions perfect, which again isn’t as straightforward as it sounds because he may be using the time to adjust switches on his steering wheel.
“But, if you put all of that together, if everyone’s having the perfect day at the same time, then you can get something really special.”
Our Record-Breaking Pit Crew© Vladimir Rys
Going into the off-season, the team will be able to bask in the knowledge of having done ‘something really special’ over and over again in 2021, but they won’t be resting on their laurels. The race bays will reverberate several times a day to the sound of wheel guns firing at the start of January as the team get back into the routine, often with Jonathan pacing the hall, stopwatch in hand.
Every winter they’ll be trying out new equipment, new positions, trying to optimise the personnel for balance, handedness, even temperament (the front jack lives on his nerves, the gunners need to have none) but for 2022 there are more wrinkles to consider.
“We are entering a new phase in F1,” says Jonathan. “The 2022 car have with 18-inch wheels: big, heavy wheels. Frankly, as I sit here today, we haven’t even tried one pit stop practice with those type of wheels. So, pit stops are going to take an entirely different dynamic. It’s going to be a massive key in getting consistency and that’s what we’ll be working on all winter.”
