Scuderia Ferrari racing director Laurent Mekies admitted that he was delighted to see the improvement from the Maranello team in regards to the pit stops during the 2021 Formula 1 season.
After a disappointing 2020 championship, in which the Italian side had to settle for only P6 in the Constructors’ Championship, last year marked an important and impactful recovery, with the Maranello team successfully challenging and defeating McLaren to secure P3 after an intense ‘best-of-the-rest’ battle.
Laurent Mekies admitted that Scuderia Ferrari worked a lot on optimising their race operations for 2021, a move that definitely paid off.
“Our focus was on the execution of the races” – Laurent Mekies said, as reported by Motorsport-Total.com – “Maybe there are two things to keep in mind. First, execution comes from preparation, so a few years ago we had to invest a lot in tools and simulations to improve.” – he added.
The improvement in performing the pit stops then proved to be the jewel in the crown of a much better race management. The Maranello team finished with the fastest pit stop in a race weekend two times during 2021, achieving this performance in the Brazilian Grand Prix and the United States Grand Prix.
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At the same time, while ultimate speed is of course important, Scuderia Ferrari were also looking for consistency. All of this work was done mostly with focus on the 2022 Formula One season, as the Maranello team are confident they will be able to fight for much more ambitious goals:
“The year before, we were second to last in terms of that.” – Laurent Mekies explained, regarding pit stop times – “What we look at in terms of fighting for the championship is consistency. The criterion we use is the percentage of pit stops under three seconds. If you make a pit stop under three seconds, then the race is where it should be. If it’s 2.5, 2.6 or 2.3 seconds, it’s not going to make much difference to the race result. We also look at how fast we stay under three seconds in the stops, but the most important parameter for us is the percentage. In 2020, we were second to last on this criterion. So we’ve done an extensive programme to try and change things, both on the car and with the guys with the training and the methodology we use. Today, in terms of said criteria, we are third. And we’re not third in points by accident either. I think this is a good example of how background work leads to better results. In such a close championship battle, where every point is at stake, the execution has to be at the highest level. There are no excuses. That’s why in 2021, even if the car wasn’t as fast as we would have liked, we took the fight as if it was for the championship.” – the Scuderia Ferrari racing director concluded.
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