Mercedes’ Formula One team is frustratingly good at everything. They’re collecting race wins and championships like it’s no big deal. And now here they are, doubling up on pit stops like they’ve been doing it for ages.
This masterful double stop took place during F1’s 1000th race, the C—a race that I only half-watched because my body is not designed for staying up past ten o’clock. I just assumed this Merc pit was a fever dream.
But it’s certainly was not.
After what I’m sure was an intensive look at their data, Mercedes called both race leader Lewis Hamilton and second-place driver Valtteri Bottas into the pits. Yes, at the same time.
The gap between the two was just wide enough that the pit crew was able to swap Hamilton’s tires just before Bottas cruised into the pit box—all without the second driver having to slow down. A double pit stop is so easy to screw up, and yet Merc pulls it off flawlessly. The move looks so impossibly choreographed that I’ve been watching it on repeat in disbelief.
Aside from, y’know, millions of extra dollars and the ability to always be improving instead of just wondering what the hell is wrong with your car, this is the kind of thing that transforms a good team into a great one.
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