Anatomy of an F1 Pit Stop

I’d never been a Formula 1 fan but a friend of mine is so passionate about it, that I promised to give it a try this season.  Well, it only took one race and I was hooked.  It really is the pinnacle of motor car racing.  Behind the glitz and glamour associated with the drivers is the small army of people who work to make sure that everything goes smoothly; and in that army, the Special Forces strike team is the pit crew.

These men (and someday, women too) risk life and limb to do all the needful tasks, so that the car and driver get back out on the circuit, fully prepared to take the checkered flag.  The most amazing part is the incredible speed that they do it with.  The following Time-Slice® Films videos are from a 2009 BBC Sport documentary called Anatomy of a Pit Stop.  It features the Force India team and is too fascinating not to share.

According to a recent Autoweek article, the Red Bull Racing team believes that their pit crew executed the fastest four-tire change ever at the Malaysian Grand Prix.  Naturally, the competition is on to see which team can beat their time of 2.05 seconds.  Here’s the video for that too; and yes, if you blink you might miss it.