Home F1 Red Bull has homecoming; completes pitch black pit stop

Red Bull, F1 — MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 13: Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing (L) and Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing pose for a photo with trophies during Max & Checo's Homecoming at Red Bull Racing Factory on December 13, 2023 in Milton Keynes, England. (Photo by Bob McCaffrey/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202312134108 // Usage for editorial use only //

Red Bull has homecoming; completes pitch black pit stop

14/12/2023

Red Bull completes a homecoming of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez post the F1 2023 win, as they also undertake pitch black pit stop.

Red Bull had its homecoming with Verstappen, Perez and Christian Horner on Tuesday at Milton Keynes where they celebrated their drivers’ and constructors’ championship win of 2023 F1 season. They celebrated with the whole team based at the factory.

They shot special videos too with the drivers while celebrating a record success in F1 2023. Amid this, the team also shared something they were upto during the season. They undertook a ‘pitch black’ pit stop with the racing crew.

They were fully plunged into darkness where the visors of the pit crew’s helmets were also blacked out, restricting all visibility. They had to depend on team work and surrounding noise plus positioning to perfect the pit stop in total darkness.

They had 27 specialist cameras with 22 member pit crew and a total of 10 attempts to achieve a under 3s pit stop. It started by them setting a 8.84s benchmark as they dipped to 4.493s midway in their 10 attempts. In a film-like situation, they achieved the 2.84s pit stop in their last attempt.

“The Pitch Black Pit Stop was a challenge we could literally never see coming our way as a Race Team, but in typical Red Bull fashion, we have come to expect the unexpected,” said team manager Jonathan Wheatley. “The sense of sight, being able to see the car, your teammates and what you are doing are intrinsic to a successful pit stop, so having that taken away presented some serious hurdles.

“However, what soon became clear is how fluid the Team are in their approach, communication, ability and cohesive spirt; that the task at hand was almost second nature. I was really proud of their performance. The time of 2.84 seconds is a strong stop even in broad daylight! I’m certainly not saying that I would like to turn the lights out in a race, but being able to pull this off so succinctly, in the pitch black, shows what a well-oiled machine the crew is and testament to the fact we have won six consecutive DHL’s Fastest Pit Stop Awards. Beautiful work.”