Old tyres
There is no time lost to a pit stop, but the pace can gradually fall away as the tyres degrade.
- Keep running on the same set
- Tyre performance degrades
- Lap times drop away
F1 GUIDE 06
Pit Stops & Race Strategy
Why a pit stop changes the order of a race
When a team changes tyres can change the order of a race. This guide walks through the basics of F1 strategy: the pit stop itself, the undercut and overcut, and what happens when a Safety Car comes out.
01 WHY PIT? Why bother stopping at all?
A pit stop costs time straight away. Teams still come in because the gain from a fresh set can be bigger than the performance an already well-used set has lost.
Fresh tyres
Time is given up once, in exchange for better pace afterwards.
- Come into the pit lane and stop
- Time is lost right there
- A fresh set can be quicker for the laps that follow
The question Can the time lost in the pits be won back with the speed of new tyres?
02 PIT STOP A two-second stop? The time you actually lose is longer.
A pit stop is not just the moment the car is stationary. It starts the instant the car turns off the racing line and ends when it rejoins the track.
- 01 PIT ENTRY Speed is already being given up the moment the car turns in.
- 02 PIT LANE The car has to respect the pit lane speed limit.
- 03 PIT BOX The driver stops precisely where the crew is waiting.
- 04 TYRE CHANGE The stationary part of the stop, when all four tyres are changed.
- 05 PIT EXIT The car leaves the pit lane and rejoins the track.
Worth knowing The tyre change time shown on a broadcast is not the same as the total time a pit stop costs. The stationary work can be very quick, but the lap is also slowed by the pit entry, the speed-limited pit lane and the exit.
How much a stop costs is different at every circuit, because the pit lane length and layout are different. That is why this guide does not quote a single number.
03 PIT WINDOW So when should the car come in?
A pit window is the rough stretch of laps in which a team would consider stopping for the strategy it is running. It keeps shifting with the tyre condition, the traffic and what rivals are doing.
LAP
← too early too late →
- Too early The new set has to last longer than you would like.
- In the window The stretch of laps where the intended strategy can actually work.
- Too late Lap time keeps being lost on tyres that are already gone.
Not a fixed range A pit window is a concept, not a fixed set of lap numbers. It moves with the strategy a team is on, the state of the tyres, the traffic ahead and what the rest of the field is doing. The laps on the scale above are only there to show the idea.
04 UNDERCUT vs OVERCUT Stop first, or stay out longer?
Two cars fighting for the same position rarely pass each other on track. More often the move happens through the timing of their pit stops.
UNDERCUT
- Running behind a rival on track
- Pit before the rival does
- Fit fresh tyres
- Push on the out lap and the laps after it
- The rival finally pits
- You can come out ahead
OVERCUT
- The rival pits first
- You stay out on track
- If the air ahead is clear, try to keep competitive lap times on the current set
- Or gain while the rival warms up new tyres
- Pit a lap or more later
- You can come out ahead
No guarantees An undercut or an overcut does not always work. Which one is even available depends on the situation.
- Tyre condition
- Tyre warm-up
- Traffic
- Pit loss
- Circuit characteristics
- Gap to the cars around
05 POSITION vs TYRES Hold the place, or take the fresh tyres?
Sometimes staying out is not about tyre life at all. It is about not giving up the place you are already in.
A hypothetical example used to explain the concept, not a real race result.
Keep the place
P3 stays out
- Running on older tyres
- But still ahead of the rival
Take the new set
P6 after the stop
- Running on fresh tyres
- But has to chase from behind
The question Is the pace advantage of new tyres enough to get back past the cars ahead?
At circuits where overtaking is hard, track position can be worth relatively more. If the performance gap to a fresh set is big enough, giving up the place and stopping can be a valid strategy too.
06 SC / VSC Why does everyone dive into the pits behind a Safety Car?
What a Safety Car or VSC actually is belongs in the flags guide. Here we only look at one thing: what it does to the cost of a pit stop.
Pitting under green
- Rivals Keep circulating at full racing speed
- You Go through the pit lane and stop
- Result The time and places given up can be significant
Pitting under a neutralisation
- Rivals Are also limited in speed under the regulations
- You Go through the pit lane and stop
- Result The loss relative to rivals can be smaller than under normal racing
About the term free stop Broadcasts sometimes call this a free stop. It does not mean a pit stop with no time loss at all. Time is still lost, it is just that less of it is lost relative to the cars that stayed out. Whether stopping is right still depends on the tyres, the track position, whether the pit lane can be reached and when the neutralisation began.
Want to know what a Safety Car and a VSC actually are? Flags & Safety Car guide →
07 DOUBLE STACK What if both team cars come in together?
Both cars of a team use the same team pit box and the same crew. So when they come into the pits close together, they have to be serviced one after the other. That is a double stack.
CAR A FIRST
- Arrives at the pit box
- Tyres are changed
- Released and rejoins
CAR B SECOND
- Arrives right behind Car A
- Waits if the box is not clear yet
- Moves into the pit box
- Work is carried out
Warning If the gap between the two cars is not big enough, or the pit lane is busy, the second car loses time waiting for the crew.
A double stack is most often seen when a Safety Car or VSC gives both cars a reason to stop on the same lap.
08 STRATEGY ROOM What does the strategy team actually look at?
A pit call is never made on one number. Several things are weighed up at the same time, and the answer changes lap by lap.
A simplified view of what goes into a pit decision. It is not a real team tool and shows no live data.
- TYRE Degradation How much performance the tyres have lost
- LAP TIME Pace Whether lap times keep dropping away
- GAP Gap Whether there is enough room to the cars around
- TRAFFIC Traffic Where the car would rejoin after stopping
- WEATHER Weather Whether the conditions could change
- SC / VSC Race control Whether the race is being neutralised
PIT NOW?
OR
STAY OUT?
The same set of inputs can lead to opposite calls for two cars in the same race, because their tyres, gaps and positions are different.
09 WATCH THE RACE Three questions to ask during a race
- 01 Why stop now? Look at the tyre condition and the pit window.
- 02 Where will the car rejoin? Look at the traffic and the gaps after the stop.
- 03 How do the rivals react? Watch whether they follow it in or stay out longer.
A pit stop is not just a tyre change.
It is a strategic choice that can change how the race unfolds.
Frequently asked questions
Why do F1 cars change tyres during a race?
Tyres lose performance as they are used, so lap times gradually drop away on old rubber. A pit stop costs time, but a fresh set can be quicker for the laps that follow. The call is always a comparison: is the time lost in the pit lane smaller than the time gained on new tyres?
What is the difference between an undercut and an overcut?
An undercut means pitting before a rival and using the pace of fresh tyres to be ahead by the time the rival stops. An overcut is the opposite: staying out longer after the rival has pitted and trying to gain the position through the timing of your own stop. Neither one works automatically.
Why can a pit stop be better under a Safety Car or VSC?
Because the rest of the field is also running at a reduced speed, so the time lost relative to rivals can be smaller than during normal racing. It is not a free stop, though. Tyre condition, track position, whether the pit lane can be reached and when the neutralisation happens all change the answer.
What is a double stack in F1?
It is when a team brings both of its cars into the pits on the same lap, one straight after the other. The crew works on the first car, then on the second. If the gap between the two cars is not big enough, the second one has to wait and loses time.
Is a faster pit stop always better?
A quick stationary time helps, but it is only one part of a pit stop. Entering and leaving the pit lane, where the car rejoins, the traffic it comes out into and above all when the stop is made usually matter more to the final result.
Related terms
Terms that come up whenever strategy is being discussed on a broadcast.
SOURCES & REFERENCES
Strategy concepts on this page are restated from official Formula 1 and Pirelli material, and the regulated elements of a pit stop follow the FIA Formula One Regulations (Sporting). Deliberately no lap counts, pit loss figures or stop times are quoted, because they differ from circuit to circuit and season to season. Always treat the published regulations as the authority.
- FIA — Formula One regulations (official documents)
- Formula 1 — Monday Morning Debrief: undercut vs overcut
- Pirelli Motorsport — Formula 1 tyre information
PHOTO CREDITS
- Pit Stop — Hatsukari715 / Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain
- Safety Car — Martin Lee / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Double Stack — Drew / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0