McLaren: 2020 pit stop investment worth avoiding lost points

McLaren says it is pressing ahead with plans to upgrade its pit equipment, even amid impending standardised parts, due to the points it lost in 2019.

McLaren was recorded as the fifth-fastest pit crew through 2019 but team boss Andreas Seidl regarded it as a main area to improve, believing its equipment needed upgrading.

McLaren suffered pit stop dramas in Italy and Mexico, with Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris respectively severely compromised by the delays.

Formula 1 is poised to introduce standardised pit equipment for 2021 but Seidl says McLaren’s setbacks this year means the investment for 2020 will still pay off.

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“Coming out of this season obviously we know the areas we have to work on as a team, on pit stops and reliability, pit stop equipment,” said Seidl.

“This is a weak area, especially the hardware we are using on the pit stop side, we have a clear plan in place of how we want to improve the situation, how we want to get to a level where the top teams are. We now just need to implement it.

“I think the investment we have to do is still reasonable for next year, but considering the number of points we lost this year with pit stops it’s a good investment to make.”

In spite of the 2020 investment Seidl backed Formula 1’s decision to standardise the equipment from 2021 and beyond.

“In the end with standardised equipment it will still be down to the human performance of the team then, which is good, which we like, as we like the pit stops to be part of the competition in this sport,” he said.

“At the same time from our point of view it makes sense to standardise the equipment because in the medium- and long-term it’ll definitely save a lot of money.”