Red Bull Racing the slowest team with pit stops since new rules

Red Bull loses time

From the Belgian Grand Prix onwards the FIA has introduced new regulations for pit stops. This requires a manual indication that a tyre is stuck, making the process safer. Red Bull was the fastest team in the pit lane for years, but with this rule change halfway through the season, the team has lost some ground.

Since the introduction of the new regulations, three real races have been run. In Belgium there was no race because of the rain. In Zandvoort, Monza and Sochi it became clear that Red Bull has lost speed. Where the fastest time before the new rules was 1.88s, Red Bull's fastest recorded time is now 2.15s.

Red Bull set this time at the Dutch Grand Prix and with that they have set the fastest time since the introduction of the new regulations. Although the team has lost some speed, it still seems capable of delivering the fastest pit stop of all. The big problem however is consistency.

Pitstops no longer reliable

Red Bull's strength in recent years has not been solely in their fastest pitstops, but in how fast they have been on average. The average time for a Red Bull pit stop before the new regulations was 2.58s, giving them a time that some teams couldn't even set as the fastest time. Red Bull have now lost a lot of ground on that front.

Although the sample with three races is not very accurate, it is clear that Red Bull has lost a lot of time. On average they now take 4.56s to complete a pit stop, which is mainly due to Verstappen's 11.1s stop at Monza and Perez's 8.92s in Russia. The problem with Verstappen's stop was a direct result of the new regulations. With this average Red Bull is now the slowest team on the grid.

Although this is still a small sample, it is clear that Red Bull has become less reliable. Where they didn't mind a quick pit stop in the first half year, that has become more difficult now. The rule change has certainly been detrimental to Red Bull.