Remaining at the top is never easy, as Red Bull demonstrated this year. Despite dominating in 2023, the team was unable to repeat its success in the Constructors’ Championship in 2024, where McLaren claimed the crown.
However, Red Bull maintained its supremacy in one area: pit stops. Since 2018, the team has consistently topped this special competition, which rewards the most consistent and reliable team during pit stops each season.
Consistency is the cornerstone of this ranking, and in a field where continuous investments and occasional small revolutions occur even in pit stops, staying at the top is a challenge. Sauber exemplified this in 2024: despite initial struggles with new equipment designed to improve its performance in an area where it had lagged in previous seasons, the Swiss team ended the year as one of the fastest on the grid.
This demonstrates how much equipment can make a difference in this area and how difficult it is to stay competitive without consistent investment. Red Bull has turned pit stops into one of its strengths, as quick pit stops can sometimes gain positions or fend off attacks.
Looking at the statistics for the ten fastest pit stops of the 2024 season, Red Bull appears on the list seven times, with McLaren and Ferrari sharing the remaining three slots. Unsurprisingly, McLaren and Ferrari rank second and third in this special classification, reflecting their performances throughout the championship.
Adding to Red Bull’s achievement is the fact that it recorded the fastest pit stop of the season, clocking 1.9 seconds in China. This record is shared with McLaren, which achieved the same time in Mexico during Oscar Piastri’s stop.
However, beyond the outright fastest time, Red Bull’s consistency made the real difference. This season, Red Bull recorded the fastest pit stop in ten races, showcasing its reliability.
McLaren follows with the fastest pit stop in five races, including a critical one in Abu Dhabi. At that moment, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was closing in, but a few tenths gained during the pit stop allowed McLaren to maintain a gap of about 1.5 seconds. A slower stop might have placed Carlos Sainz on the edge of the DRS zone, increasing pressure.
Ferrari, meanwhile, recorded the fastest pit stop in four Grands Prix, with its quickest stop clocked at 1.94 seconds in Miami, just 0.04 seconds off the season’s best. Mercedes ranks fourth, followed by Racing Bulls, which also had the fastest pit stop in two Grands Prix this season.
Alpine and Sauber follow, with Sauber overcoming early-season challenges with new equipment—such as adjustments needed for wheel nuts—to finish the year as one of the fastest teams. Sauber recorded the best times in Baku and São Paulo, showing that its investments paid off. The ranking is completed by Aston Martin, Haas, and Williams.
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