HaasF1 modifies pit stops for Bahrain: watchdog at the red button

D ie 22 World Cup points that HaasF1 won at GP Australia gambled still hurts. Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen drove home empty-handed. In both cases, the pit stop was sluggish. The wheel nut jammed and the drivers had to park their cars shortly after the pit stops. “But a missed opportunity like this is easier to bear when you know that you have a good car and you can make it up for it in the next race,” says team principal Guenther Steiner.

After the race in Melbourne, he continued the team got together to analyze the breakdowns at the pit stops. “It was a calm atmosphere. The drivers also behaved great there. They know these mistakes are not intentional. Assigning blame doesn't help because we can't change the past anyway. We have to make sure that it doesn't happen to us again in the future, ”explained Steiner.

More pit stop training in Bahrain

In addition, HaasF1 has changed the pit stop procedure slightly and within the crew swapped positions. Pit stops are also trained more often in Bahrain. On Wednesday evening, 9 p.m. local time, the US racer was rolled out to the garage for the first time to practice the new procedures. “Too much training is not good either. Otherwise the boys will get tired. ”

What is new is that there is now an additional man in the team who can stop the process by remote control should one of the mechanics warn with a show of hands that there is a problem. 'The mechanic himself cannot do anything,' confirms Steiner.

If he pulls off the impact wrench and presses the green button, this command is in the system. The man at the impact wrench can no longer undo it. 'This requires an extra person who stands in front of the car and has an eye on all four corners.'

Screwdriver positions swapped

The three-person ropes on the wheels were minimally swapped. One of the two men at the impact wrench who had the mishap in Melbourne moved to a different position within the tire changing team. 'Now we have to see that the boys regain their self-confidence,' said Steiner.

New pit stop records are taboo for the US racing team in Bahrain. “This time we have to make sure that the wheels stay on when the cars leave the pit lane,” smiles Steiner. “We are now a solid oneA three second stop rather than a 2.3 second flop. If the result is 2.7 seconds in the end, I don't mind. ”