Pit stop strategy dominated the Spanish Grand Prix with most drivers making four visits to the pits. There were 77 pit stops in total
Fernando Alonso enjoyed the quickest pit stop of the race when he made his final stop on lap 49. From pit entry to exit he took 18.471 seconds, almost a full second quicker than the quickest pit stop in last year’s race, which was also set by Ferrari.
The top 19 pit stops in this year’s race were all quicker than the fastest seen last year.
Spanish Grand Prix tyre strategies
The tyre strategies for each driver:
Stint 1 | Stint 2 | Stint 3 | Stint 4 | Stint 5 | Stint 6 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fernando Alonso | Medium (9) | Hard (12) | Hard (15) | Medium (13) | Hard (17) | |
Kimi Raikkonen | Medium (10) | Medium (16) | Medium (19) | Hard (21) | ||
Felipe Massa | Medium (8) | Hard (12) | Hard (16) | Medium (15) | Hard (15) | |
Sebastian Vettel | Medium (10) | Hard (14) | Hard (15) | Medium (12) | Hard (15) | |
Mark Webber | Medium (7) | Hard (13) | Hard (16) | Medium (14) | Hard (16) | |
Nico Rosberg | Medium (10) | Hard (17) | Hard (20) | Hard (19) | ||
Paul di Resta | Medium (9) | Hard (10) | Medium (19) | Medium (15) | Hard (13) | |
Jenson Button | Medium (11) | Hard (17) | Hard (18) | Hard (20) | ||
Sergio Perez | Medium (10) | Hard (13) | Hard (15) | Medium (12) | Hard (16) | |
Daniel Ricciardo | Medium (10) | Hard (14) | Medium (15) | Hard (12) | Hard (14) | |
Esteban Gutierrez | Medium (13) | Medium (15) | Hard (14) | Medium (12) | Hard (11) | |
Lewis Hamilton | Medium (9) | Hard (16) | Hard (11) | Medium (14) | Hard (15) | |
Adrian Sutil | Medium (8) | Medium (14) | Hard (14) | Hard (13) | Medium (16) | |
Pastor Maldonado | Medium (8) | Hard (12) | Medium (15) | Hard (18) | Medium (12) | |
Nico Hulkenberg | Medium (8) | Medium (13) | Hard (13) | Hard (1) | Hard (18) | Medium (12) |
Valtteri Bottas | Medium (9) | Hard (16) | Hard (18) | Medium (22) | ||
Charles Pic | Hard (8) | Medium (15) | Hard (18) | Hard (24) | ||
Jules Bianchi | Hard (2) | Hard (14) | Hard (13) | Medium (17) | Hard (18) | |
Max Chilton | Hard (15) | Hard (15) | Medium (17) | Hard (17) | ||
Jean-Eric Vergne | Medium (9) | Hard (11) | Medium (14) | Hard (3) | Medium (15) | |
Giedo van der Garde | Medium (9) | Hard (11) | Hard (1) | |||
Romain Grosjean | Medium (8) |
Spanish Grand Prix pit stop times
How long each driver’s pit stops took:
Driver | Team | Pit stop time | Gap | On lap | |
1 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 18.471 | 49 | |
2 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 18.606 | 0.135 | 10 |
3 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 18.694 | 0.223 | 51 |
4 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 18.708 | 0.237 | 24 |
5 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 18.810 | 0.339 | 11 |
6 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 18.909 | 0.438 | 9 |
7 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 18.931 | 0.460 | 50 |
8 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 19.001 | 0.530 | 51 |
9 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 19.151 | 0.680 | 20 |
10 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 19.170 | 0.699 | 36 |
11 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 19.196 | 0.725 | 28 |
12 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 19.250 | 0.779 | 10 |
13 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 19.290 | 0.819 | 46 |
14 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | 19.324 | 0.853 | 54 |
15 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 19.326 | 0.855 | 36 |
16 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 19.352 | 0.881 | 47 |
17 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 19.373 | 0.902 | 20 |
18 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 19.402 | 0.931 | 21 |
19 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 19.414 | 0.943 | 10 |
20 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 19.457 | 0.986 | 50 |
21 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 19.481 | 1.010 | 53 |
22 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 19.490 | 1.019 | 8 |
23 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 19.498 | 1.027 | 39 |
24 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 19.519 | 1.048 | 36 |
25 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 19.551 | 1.080 | 39 |
26 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 19.591 | 1.120 | 36 |
27 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 19.668 | 1.197 | 7 |
28 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 19.700 | 1.229 | 36 |
29 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 19.723 | 1.252 | 53 |
30 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus | 19.743 | 1.272 | 26 |
31 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 19.772 | 1.301 | 9 |
32 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 19.792 | 1.321 | 19 |
33 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 19.795 | 1.324 | 10 |
34 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 19.822 | 1.351 | 38 |
35 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 19.830 | 1.359 | 46 |
36 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 19.857 | 1.386 | 51 |
37 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 19.866 | 1.395 | 38 |
38 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 19.904 | 1.433 | 29 |
39 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 19.908 | 1.437 | 43 |
40 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 19.952 | 1.481 | 21 |
41 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus | 19.978 | 1.507 | 10 |
42 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | 19.988 | 1.517 | 28 |
43 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 19.993 | 1.522 | 8 |
44 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 19.993 | 1.522 | 50 |
45 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 20.032 | 1.561 | 27 |
46 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | 20.082 | 1.611 | 42 |
47 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 20.100 | 1.629 | 24 |
48 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 20.132 | 1.661 | 25 |
49 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus | 20.184 | 1.713 | 45 |
50 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 20.205 | 1.734 | 8 |
51 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 20.306 | 1.835 | 22 |
52 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 20.314 | 1.843 | 53 |
53 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 20.533 | 2.062 | 25 |
54 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 20.578 | 2.107 | 23 |
55 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 20.615 | 2.144 | 9 |
56 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 20.656 | 2.185 | 16 |
57 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 20.671 | 2.200 | 20 |
58 | Charles Pic | Caterham | 20.734 | 2.263 | 8 |
59 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 20.800 | 2.329 | 35 |
60 | Charles Pic | Caterham | 20.870 | 2.399 | 23 |
61 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 21.171 | 2.700 | 9 |
62 | Charles Pic | Caterham | 21.202 | 2.731 | 41 |
63 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 21.340 | 2.869 | 47 |
64 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 21.582 | 3.111 | 30 |
65 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 21.686 | 3.215 | 9 |
66 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 22.018 | 3.547 | 9 |
67 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 22.029 | 3.558 | 20 |
68 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | 22.144 | 3.673 | 13 |
69 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 22.324 | 3.853 | 34 |
70 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 22.931 | 4.460 | 49 |
71 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 23.139 | 4.668 | 20 |
72 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 24.001 | 5.530 | 35 |
73 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 25.294 | 6.823 | 15 |
74 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 25.362 | 6.891 | 34 |
75 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 29.740 | 11.269 | 37 |
76 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 29.994 | 11.523 | 2 |
77 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 74.026 | 55.555 | 8 |
2013 Spanish Grand Prix
- Why the Spanish GP was better in person than on TV
- Ferrari one-two in Spanish GP Driver of the Weekend
- Spanish Grand Prix gets lowest rating of 2013 so far
- 2013 Spanish Grand Prix fans’ video gallery
- Ferrari join Lotus in criticising tyre revisions
Image © Ferrari/Ercole Colombo
Fisha695 (@fisha695)
12th May 2013, 18:14
Average medium stint = 12.17 laps, 56.65km (35.19mi), or 18.43% of the race.
Average hard stint = 13.83 laps, 64.37km (39.99mi), or 20.95% of the race.
aldoG
12th May 2013, 21:24
LOL. The fastest and most expensive cars in the world are going ahead with tyres that last, on average, 64 km (and that only if the drivers are told not to push…) Not sure if I should laugh or cry.
Timothy Katz (@timothykatz)
13th May 2013, 7:54
Great arithmatic, but disappointing results.
I wonder how much four pitstops and driving less rapidly to conserve the tyres actualy lengthen the race duration. I wonder is someone could compare the average lap time over the duration of the race (ie total time divided by laps) and compare it to a GP2 time.
Fisha695 (@fisha695)
13th May 2013, 8:45
No idea about the GP2 time however here is the total race times going back to 2004 when they started running 66 laps instead of 65.
2013 — 1:39:17.00
2012 — 1:39:09.15
2011 — 1:39:03.30
2010 — 1:35:44.01
2009 — 1:37:19.20
2008 — 1:38:19.05
2007 — 1:31:36.23
2006 — 1:26:21.76
2005 — 1:27:16.83
2004 — 1:27:32.84
This years race was 7.85 seconds slower/longer then last years race, while compared to the 2011 running it was 13.70 seconds slower/longer in total time.
7.85 seconds over 66 laps works out to be 0.11893 seconds per lap slower/longer on average, so round up and you can say that this years race was 0.12 seconds slower/longer per lap then the 2012 running.
Timothy Katz (@timothykatz)
13th May 2013, 9:22
I have to say I was expecting a lot more of a drop off this year. But I’m surprised that the race takes 12 minutes longer than it did in 2004.
This year’s GP2 race was 41:59 over 26 laps, so average of 1:36.54 per lap. The average lap for this year’s F1 was 1:30.15.
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
13th May 2013, 15:48
@timothykatz, remember they didn’t have the chicane before the final corner in 2004, so those times are a little flattered. I think they put the chicane in for the 2008 season. The race times for the 2008 and 2009 season look a little slow, especially considering they had refuelling back then, but both those races saw a safety car.
I think the difference between the 2010 race and the races in the Pirelli era is a nice illustration of the impact that degradable tyres have on race pace.
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
12th May 2013, 18:14
I’m amazed just how much as a top team Lotus loses to leaders during pit stops. They can’t afford that if they’re chasing championship glory.
Kimi4WDC
13th May 2013, 0:42
This is going to bite hard in Monaco, where it is already nearly impossible to find free air to do the pit-stop, specially if a slow car leading the pack.
andae23 (@andae23)
12th May 2013, 18:19
Interesting to see that Raikonnen was able to replace Ferrari’s and Red Bull’s two hard stints with one medium stint: that Lotus is a really well built car.
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
13th May 2013, 15:51
@andae23, true, but I have the feeling that the modified hard didn’t work as well as expected, or at least was trickier to get to work than the medium, which actually worked pretty well for most drivers.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
15th May 2013, 5:49
@adrianmorse considering how Lotus consistently flunk pitstops, they should always go for lesser stopping strategies…
HK (@me4me)
12th May 2013, 19:25
Can’t help to think that many the teams got it wrong, and that the medium tyre actually was better for the race. It’s faster, but the difference in nr of laps isn’t that big.
Chema Carrasco (@chemakal)
12th May 2013, 23:21
More new hard tyre sets. Actually did Raikonnen do 2 stints out of 4 with used mediums? So much to tyre issues for some teams/drivers
Chema Carrasco (@chemakal)
12th May 2013, 23:23
3 out of 4
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
13th May 2013, 4:23
Does anyone know what was Alonso’s stationary time for his final pitstop. With varying pitlane lengths, it’s difficult to compare cumulative pitstop times from circuit to circuit…
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
13th May 2013, 16:10
Looking at the pit stops, is it conclusive that 4 pit stops were the better strategy?
I think that was the case just for the Ferraris.
Rosberg on 3 pit stops managed to keep P6 as opposed to dropping further back. Raikonnen took P2. Red Bull must certainly regret not taking a chance on a 3 pit stop strategy for Vettel. Button leapfrogged Perez on the 3 pit stop strategy so it was the correct tyre strategy for the McLaren. Hamilton dropped to P12 on a 4 pit stop strategy.
The only cars that benefited from a 4 pit stop strategy were the Ferraris BUT Alonso is saying that they were just lucky that the tyre deg happened to give them the pace to win. Slightly worse tyre deg and Raikonnen would have won it.
Mr win or lose
13th May 2013, 20:44
4 pitstops were better in general, see for example Maldonado versus Bottas. Räikkönen only managed to get his 3-stop strategy work because of his extremely low tyre wear, although I think he too might have done better if he’d done a 4-stop strategy – he lost quite a bit behind Vettel before his second stop. Rosberg and Button did a good job nursing his tyres, but they were not particularly fast – their strategy at least made them less susceptible to traffic. It’s not strange that given the high tyre-wear rates (laptimes increasing by 4 seconds on worn tyres) and the relatively minor time losses in the pits, many teams (Red Bull and at least Sauber) changed their strategyfrom a 3-stop to a 4-stop.