Merc / Red Bull block FIA pit stop equipment tender – report

Mercedes and Red Bull blocked the FIA’s attempt to standardize pit stop equipment, according to a report.

Pit stops have become a crucial part of the strategy in modern Formula 1, with stops under two seconds being a common sight these days.

To achieve this, the teams worked tirelessly to train the mechanics while investing heavily in the best equipment to make the fastest possible pit stops.

However, this became a focus of attention for the FIA, which had previously announced that tolerances would need to be built into the pit stops to allow human reaction times.

This rule was later drastically updated, which means that starting with the Belgian Grand Prix, the mechanic has to press the button on each wheel to signal that the wheel is safe on itself.

Motorsport.com reports that from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards, the release of the car from the pit box will also have to be done by a manual signal.

Following these updates, McLaren boss Andreas Seidl said “the door is open for more changes for next year,” but Motorsport.com’s report states that an attempted major move by the FIA ​​has been blocked.

According to reports, the FIA ​​had launched a tender for the construction of standardized pit stop equipment to be distributed to all 10 teams from 2022, a project that the Italian company Dino Paoli was planning to take on.

This is already the case with NASCAR, with Dino Paoli providing a system that can indicate an unsafe publication.

For this to have worked in Formula 1, all teams would have needed the same devices and sensors to return the information to the FIA, but a switch to this system for 2022 was blocked by Mercedes and Red Bull.

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The two teams have established themselves at the top of Formula 1 and are currently fighting a bitter battle for the drivers ‘and constructors’ championships.

Both teams are also leaders in the pit stop department, which has invested millions of euros in this area.

And so, Motorsport.com reports that both teams “have no intention of giving up a competitive advantage, so no agreement has been reached to switch to the same pit stop gear in 2022”.