McLaren welcomes FIA clampdown on ultra-fast pitstops

McLaren F1 boss Andreas Seidl welcomed the FIA's decision to slow down ultra-fast pitstops in F1, insisting the initiative will improve the safety of team crews.

The FIA announced on Thursday that from this year's Hungarian Grand Prix, pitstop procedures would include a series of delays to the human action to ensure the proper completion of a task.

The new technical directive has been introduced following suspicions that teams may be using sensors to anticipate the completion of a specific step in order to gain time.

Several teams viewed Red Bull's frequent sub-2 second stops as a nearly impossible feat for a crew that strictly follows the procedures. For instance, a mechanic may still be in the process of tightening a wheelnut while the jacks are being lowered.

The introduction of a degree of human latency will prevent this from occurring in the future per the FIA's latest technical directive. The minimum rection time between the completion of a wheelnut being tightened and the jack man being told to lower the car has been set at 0.15s.

• Read also: FIA to rein in pitstop times from Hungarian GP

Seidl said the new TD would not require McLaren to change its pitstop procedures as the team has always factored in a safety margin to protect its crews during pitstops.

"Safety for our pit crew is one of the most important things for us as a team," Seidl said in Austria.

"It's such a very competitive battlefield in F1, and therefore I think it is good to clarify even further of what the FIA is expecting in order to be within the rules.

"I don't think it would change a lot for us because we always took, I would say, a more conservative approach here to make sure that we don't put anyone in the pit crew at risk."

The McLaren F1 boss viewed the FIA's initiative as a case of prevention being better than cure.

"One reason why we welcome the initiatives on FIA side, is it's important also to anticipate problems or safety issues, and not always wait until they happen and then react.

"Therefore we're very happy with that."

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