Everything You Need to Know About Formula One Pit Stop Crew

No need to stress how important is time in Forumula One: it’s everything. A split-second decisions can cost driver points, race win or even championship titles. It is then understandable that every member of a Formula One team needs to knows their part in the overall strategy of the team. Pit crew being the most important, right after the driver.

We look at the significance of the pit stop crew in Formula One.

Pit Crew and Their Roles

Pit crew is formed from the team’s mechanics, and their roles are not fixed, apart from the chief mechanic. The roles are usually  based on their physical capabilities, but majority of the team is capable of fulfilling any of the duties.

Let’s get going.

Tyre changers

Tyre changer uses a “tyre gun” to unlock each each tyre’s single log nut and reinstall the new one. There’s four tyre changers in each pitstop and their salary goes as high as $350000.

Tyre carriers

Job of a tyre carrier in F1 is to either remove the old tyre or add the new one, threrefore, there’s eight of them in total, two per tyre position. Anual sallary of a tyre carrier in F1 is $270000.

Stabilizers

Job of a pit crew “stabilizer” is to balance the car in the middle, so that the tyre changers can place the tires easier on the car. As simple as it sounds, it’s an important task, and it is paid $90000 a year.

The Wing Men

If required, it is the job of the front wing men to either adjust, or in the worst case scenario, replace the whole front wing due to damage. Anual salary for this position is $150000.

The Jack Men

Considered as the most dangerous job of the entire crew, front jack man’s duty is to stand directly in front of the car when it enters the pit, so that he can attend to his duty as quickly as possible.

With the help of a rear jack man, the front men lifts the car with a lever-type jacks, and allows other members of the crew to change the tyres. Hopefully, in the near future, automotive lifts will be able to replace these crew members, and reduce the chance of human injury but also team’s expenses, as the “Jack Men” anual salary goes up to $150000.

The Fire Extinguisher Man

One dedicated fire extinguisher always stands ready to put out any fires when the car enters the pit, at least to allow the driver to exit the car. A number of other team members may join in, if the need shows. This position became permanent since 1994 Jos Verstappen’s pit incident.

For a dangerous role like this, a salary of $30000 per anum is provided.

Depracated F1 Pit Crew Roles

Roles of “the lolipop man”, “the refueling man” and “the starter man” were all removed in recent years, due to technological advances.