Everyone has to stay behind the solid white line in front of the garages until the car has come to a stop, and no equipment is allowed over the line until it stops. On stopping, the driver must switch off the lights, cut the engine and undo his harness. The roles are all strictly defined in the regulations and they are:
· One person acts as the car ‘controller’ or supervisor and he/she holds the stop board and will also safely see the car out of the pits when it is ready. The controller is not allowed to touch or work on the car.
· Once the car is ‘earthed’ with a cable from the pit garage, two people are allowed to carry out refuelling/venting – wearing 3-layer firesuits and full face helmets. When they finish, they withdraw immediately to the garage.
· As this is going on, or if necessary afterwards, a maximum of two people are permitted to clean the windscreen, headlights and rear lights, mirrors or cameras. One of these can also connect a cable for downloading data.
· Tyre and brake technicians (one from each supplier) are allowed to carry out checks (temperatures, pressures, visual checks) if necessary, while refuelling is going on.
· A maximum of 2 tyre changers are allowed and only one tyre gun is permitted to be used at any one time. It’s very carefully choreographed for speed and usually 2 crew members do one side and then run back into the garage, another 2 come and do the other two wheels on the other side but each team has a different system. The mechanics are allowed to lay down the new tyre on the ground while refuelling is going on, but they can’t touch the car until it is finished.
· One person is allowed to change the memory card for data logging. The card has to be changed after each refuelling, and the data needs to be transferred to the scrutineers.
· In LMP1-H a specific role for one additional person will be to change the fuel flow meter if this is necessary.
· The driver is allowed a ‘driver assistant’ to help him when he first enters the cockpit, but many teams prefer to use the driver who is exiting the car. They will help connect the radio, driver ID (so timekeeping knows who is in the car) and seat belts, and close the door. A driver’s drinks bottle will also be changed at the same time…crucial for hot races such as in Austin and Bahrain.
· A maximum of 4 people are allowed to work on the car in the working pit lane once refuelling and tyre changes have taken place – for example, if minor repairs need to be carried out – but most teams tend to bring the car into the garage because then there’s no limit on the number of people who can work on the car.
· There is also a person with a fire extinguisher, mandatory during refuelling for safety reasons.
An average pit stop to change tyres takes around 20 seconds, but depending on the amount of fuel required, stops may be longer. However, one thing is certain…every second counts towards success.
Fiona Miller
