Ferrari have made many mistakes this season, some of which were repeated at pit stops. Latest, his 12.7 second stoppage of Carlos Sainz last weekend ruined the Spaniard’s chances at Zandvoort. After the race, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto affirmed that the problem was that the Spaniard had pitted too late and the tires weren’t ready. The front arrived just in time, but the left rear in particular didn’t make it in time, not because it was on the way, but because the mechanic for the left rear wheel was in front of the car. He was on the other side of where it had to go, circled the car as best he could, got to where it had to go, and delivered it to the mechanic who had to install the wheel.

For fans, journalists and those outside the box, it was a very strange move.we refer Edu Llorens was the mechanic for AlphaTauri (formerly Toro Rosso) from 2017 to 2021and to be precise, it is One of the two boxes has a Tire Manager, occupying the position of “Tire Technician”.

Its function was neither unboxing the wheels nor putting them on. His job at the pitstops, apart from his other duties during the race, was to make sure the four mechanics had the right tires to make the pitstops.

This is how pitstops work

“The tire manager has prior information from the engineers and knows what strategy the team is considering, so he knows what wheels need to be put on for the race. In addition, each set of tires has a light to indicate which set to use.This light changes during the race.”, DM for explanation A former coach of the Faenza team, he is now tackling another professional challenge away from the ‘Great Circus’.

“For example, on lap one the lights are normally on over the hard tyres, and as the race progresses the lights are updated. It is necessary to change the compound that was Therefore, you should always be careful. In particular, be careful with his four people who have to get behind the wheel. You should always wear a helmet and gloves so that you are ready at all times,” he adds.

With this information, we have to imagine that the team wants to make a pit stop in the middle of the race. Here are the steps: “They call the pilots to the pits. If the set of tires that the car has to have lights come on and there is a last-minute change to the planned strategy, the lights of the set of tires that should be taken also change. to avoid oversights, which may occur…”.

“In that moment, Tire technicians know that all pit stop mechanics who have to use wheels always use the correct wheels and there are no errors.Because I’ve seen people put on the wrong tire because it was the tire that had the lights on the last time I looked at it. It can be caused by the stress of the moment,” says the Catalan, stating, “That’s why we always have to be careful.”

But for some reason, The mechanic is distracted and the wheel does not come off. Tire technicians must be aware. But it’s not just him, it’s the turn of the so-called “escort”.

What is the Escort Corps?

“The Escort Corps is the second unit dispatched in an emergency. A clear example is when the nut breaks, as happened to Bottas in Monaco (2021). An escort team will come there and get you a second set of tires,” says the man from Igualada. “At AlphaTauri we had two people from the escort team, but with a big team like Ferrari there should be four people. So it seemed improbable to me that one of the wheels hadn’t come loose. ”

But even stranger, what he saw was a detailed repetition of what had happened. “What I had in mind was that the mechanics left very late. This is very rare, so I was very surprised.But what I saw later in the replay was even stranger, They don’t have a good reason. A rear-wheel mechanic never gets to the front. ”, clarify.And that’s according to the original of Alpha Tauri, at the practice stops that take place at the Grand Prix, each mechanic internalizes their way into the car. Hence the surprise.

“There’s always people in the box, people in helmets and gloves. This stuff doesn’t happen in boxes with so many staff.”He says so with conviction and surprise. Especially on the number of times teams practice pit stops over the weekend and across the track.

2,000 pit stop practices per year

“Every race has a ‘pit stop practice’. In other words, teams typically practice about 10 pit stops per race every day of the Grand Prix, from Thursday to Saturday. On the other hand, on Sundays, 5-6 people practice so that the mechanics can face the race comfortably. More or less, at each race he can talk about 40 or 45 pit stops, and across the course he has 22 scheduled. In total, there are around 1,000 pit stops per year at Grands Prix,” explains Llorens, noting that many more pit stops are made in pre-season and at the factory.

“During the winter, they do a ‘pit stop practice’ every day, and before the chassis is ready, they can do two practice sessions. We can make pit stops for 2000 people in total, about 2,000 people a year,” adds Edu.

lack of attention

All these exercises are aimed at ensuring that the choreography between the members of the parade is perfect and as close to two seconds as possible. Carlos of Zandvoort was 12″ 7″, and for Llorens, the late call to Pitt was not to blame. I was careless.

“It’s not the fault of the late call. Yellow flags, safety cars, virtual safety cars, tire punctures are possible and the mechanics have to be ready. Being late is no excuse. Calls are made when they are made and mechanics must obey. ”concludes Edu Llorens.