Red Bull pitting wits in the dark for two seconds of perfection

Changing the team’s tyres has become an art form for the fastest outfit on the F1 circuit

- Matt Majendie

A RED BULL Racing car drives into the pits, the team's crew poised in anticipation of its arrival.

The front and rear jack men hoist up the car, the wheel guns fire into life as all four tyres are changed. And when this rapid dance of sorts is all done, the clock stops at 2.8sec.

The time is a full second outside the world record set last season, but this is a stop done in complete darkness to see what is possible in such circumstances.

McLaren might have eclipsed Red Bull's record for the fastest-ever stop, but Red Bull, much like the racing itself, are the No1 pit crew in the sport.

Points are awarded to pit crews at each grand prix weekend, and for a sixth season Red Bull came on top to win the DHL Fastest Pitstop Award.

For 34 years, Jonathan Wheatley has been involved in pitstops as the sporting director, he oversee that particular domain.

"A pitstop is an extraordinary thing, with 22 people who all have to be sub-two seconds," he said. "It's been described as a choreography, and there's an element of that. There's a rhythm to it all, they're taking cues from sounds, movements, all sorts of things.