How do you get a 'free pit stop' under the Safety Car in F1?

When the SC or VSC is called, drivers can get a pit stop "for free". What does this mean and how does this work? Let's explore!

How do strategists work out which combination of tyres, pitstops and engine modes make for the fastest strategy? Let's look at the basics of putting a race strategy together.

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Writing / Illustration / Animation / Editing / Narration:
Stuart Taylor

chainbearsharef1

[islamomt]

4:15 prophetic!! 4 years ago who would've thought this explanation would be the basis of deciding probably the most competitive season in F1 history?!

[snehalraj]

If you zoom in enough, you can see verstappen in the yellow dot and hamilton in the pink dot.

[OgulcanKaraca_]

4:11 question and 4:15 the diagram of what happened in Abu Dhabi 2021. I think Red Bull strategiests watched this video before the race.

[deskelly]

I think I've watched enough of these videos now to drive F1. Where do I sign up?

[AdhiNarayananYR]

The last minute of this video- exactly what happened in abu dhabi 2021.

[TheNostradamus]

And now your animations are already featuring the HALO... I guess it is getting serious.

But I actually dont mind the HALO that much. So... Good job on keeping your animations up to date.

[thebloodrose]

I would really like to see you analysing actual races, I think I would be quite interesting to watch. :)

[hoder]

Instructions unclear. Spaghetti car got stuck in virtual traffic



JK this is so informative actually

[nickc]

Isn’t nascar the one everyone thinks it’s just driving around in circle

[jobic]

it's worth noting that drivers must follow a "delta time" for the first few laps under a safety car. essentially they're not allowed to go faster than the safety car at first in order to allow all drivers to pit without completely messing up their track positions and ruining the "free" pit stop

[saketpundlik]

I have a feeling this will have more views now that 2021 Abu Dhabi GP is over.

[DylanBeaupeurt]

A completely free pitstop would be where the time from pit entry to pit exit is the same whether you take a pitstop or follow the safety car along the main straight, though that is unlikely. More often it refers to when the cars around you are also pitting so you don't lose track position. Also when there *aren't* any cars behind you so again, you don't lose places. Anyway, your simplification is fair enough. I remembered your voice from the tyre rules video btw.

[CristiNeagu]

So... How are you going to finish the spaghetti for yourself before you arrive home?

[blackpearl]

Well now Abu Dhabi 2021 makes more sense. Thanks :)

[allenqueen]

So this is what won Sebastián Vettel the Australian GP

[leonderprofi]

Came for a f1 video
Heard about delicious spaghetti
Got hungry
Now i‘m making spaghetti

[Midaspl]

I'm not sure if I still get it :P . If you pit under SC you should end up somewhere in the tail, as all gaps are vastly reduced behind SC. That would mean you would have to overtake way more cars than after a pit in normal race and in F1 overtaking is not the easiest thing to do.

[keeperse]

Great animation! And a very clear explanation. Just perfect.

[szilagyipeter]

Absolutely professional animations and analysis of all the things you explain here. Keep em coming :D Happy New Year :D

[TomCi]

3:54 He explains that if yellow pits, it’ll end up behind pink(at no cost) but from the animation yellow is behind green after the pitstop. It seems yellow lost a position.