How long does an F1 pit stop take to change 4 tyres?
The record is 1.80 seconds, but stopping costs far more: entering and leaving the pit lane takes around 20 seconds. See how it is done and what it cost in the latest race.
Summary
- The F1 pit-stop record is 1.80 seconds, set by McLaren at Qatar 2023: all four wheels are changed.
- Stopping is not free: entering and leaving the pit lane costs around 20 seconds, depending on the circuit.
- That is why a tenth in the pits can decide a position, and why the undercut and overcut exist.
- 1
The record: 1.80 s
McLaren stopped Lando Norris in 1.80 seconds at the 2023 Qatar GP. It beat Red Bull's record (1.82 s, Brazil 2019) by two thousandths.
- 2
The car brakes on its mark
The car stops exactly in front of its crew, with the mechanics already ready. A centimetre-sized error costs tenths.
- 3
One gun per wheel
Each wheel is held by a single central nut, and one gun per wheel loosens it and then tightens it.
- 4
Wheels off, wheels on
The mechanics take off the used wheel and fit the new one almost simultaneously at all four corners.
- 5
Green light and out
When the four nuts are tight, the car leaves. But entering and leaving the pit lane has already cost many seconds.
The pit stops of the latest race
The time each car spent in the pit lane in the latest race with data: from entry to exit, not just the wheel change. It is what is really lost by stopping.
Did you get it?
Glossary
- Pit stop
- A stop in the pits to change tyres (and sometimes repair something). The four-wheel change takes about 2 seconds; what costs far more is entering and leaving the pit lane.
- Pit lane
- The pit road, parallel to the start/finish straight, with a speed limit. "Pit-lane time" is what a car spends from entering to leaving.
- Pit-stop cost
- The time lost by entering the pits, stopping and rejoining compared with staying out. It changes from one circuit to another; on the site it is measured with each race's data.
- Undercut
- Pitting before the car ahead so that, on fresh tyres, you lap faster and come out ahead when they stop.
- Stint
- The part of a race a driver runs on the same set of tyres, between two pit stops.
Sources
- The fastest pit-stop record is 1.80 seconds, by McLaren with Lando Norris at the 2023 Qatar GP (8 October 2023). Guinness World Records · The record-breaking evolution of the Formula 1 pit stop
- It beat the previous record, by Red Bull at the 2019 Brazilian GP (1.82 s), by 0.002 seconds. Guinness World Records · The record-breaking evolution of the Formula 1 pit stop
- The time it costs to enter, stop and leave the pit lane is much greater than the wheel change and varies from one circuit to another. There is no single official figure: that is why it is given here as an order of magnitude (~20 s) and the panel below measures it in each race with FIA data. Formuradar · own measurement per race (panel on this page)
Sources checked on 18 October 2026. The explanations are popular-level: for the exact rules, check the FIA sporting regulations.
Keep learning
The undercut: pitting before your rival so you come out ahead when they stop. How it works, when it fails and how it looks in a real race.
The six flags that rule an F1 race (green, yellow, blue, red, black and chequered) and what each one demands, with the flags from the latest race.