3 Things Most Fans Don’t Know About F1 Pit Stops
1. There’s one pit crew — not one per car
Most people assume each driver has their own pit team, but every stop is carried out by the same group of mechanics.
There are two sides to the garage, but the pit crew is a collective of both — one team, one operation.
There’s no preference between drivers when we’re in the box.
2. We watch the race in silence
Fans hear commentary, engine noise, strategy chat, and radio messages.
We hear none of it.
When we’re sat in the garage waiting for the next stop, we watch the same world feed the fans do — but on mute.
It’s just our radios, internal comms, the sound of the cars on track, and the noise of other teams doing their stops.
We only hear what we need: the call to get ready, tyre info, and anything critical.
3. We do hundreds of practice pit stops a year — but no two in the race are the same
Every stop is different: tyre compounds, temperatures, track conditions, pressure, the state of the race.
Some pit lanes are so tight that you have to adjust your positioning to avoid impacting the neighbouring team.
Damage and debris are common, and reacting to unexpected situations becomes second nature.
It’s the tiny variables that make every stop feel unique — even when it looks identical on TV.
Race weekends 🤝🏻 half marathon weekends
Paced myself for a 1:37.
Underestimated the hill.
Heart rate was fighting for its life.
Still happy with a 1:41:00
F1 one week, Tokyo underground the next.
Same obsession, different playground.
Appreciate you letting me experience it 🤝 @hive
#tokyocars #jdmculture #gtr #carculture #undergroundcars
48 hours of travel chaos to Melbourne.
Straight to the circuit on arrival.
Sleep anywhere. Show up ready.
I’ve been using the Manta SOUND 2 mask recently when travelling for races. It completely blocks out light with adjustable eye cups, so you can actually get proper rest even on planes or in bright hotel rooms. The mask also has ultra-thin Bluetooth speakers built in, so I can play music to block out cabin noise during flights.
@mantasleep
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