Analysis | This is where Mercedes lose a significant amount of time

For quite a few years now, Red Bull have scooped a myriad of fastest pitstop awards and set World Record times to change four wheels on an F1 car. None of that was meaningful with Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton walking away with the two biggest prizes each year between 2017 and 2020 inclusive. With Red Bull Racing now serious contenders for the Championship, the magnifying glass is pulled over the pitlane. This is where Mercedes lose a significant amount of time in 2021. 

Of course, after the pitstops in Austria, Hamilton picked up damage and eventually dropped backwards as a result of this. His times remained in the 1:09's whereas teammate Valtteri Bottas was able to reduce his lap time as the fuel load dropped throughout the race. But the pitstop window is another area that Mercedes will be looking at before the F1 circus heads to Silverstone. 

During the first set of pitstops in the Austrian Grand Prix, Mercedes pulled Lewis Hamilton in. To prevent the undercut, Max Verstappen followed one lap later. Once the pitstops were complete, the Red Bull driver had extended his lead and the seven-time World Champion was heard on the radio asking his team engineer how that happened. 

The data 

Hamilton's time spent in the pitlane was marginally less than his Dutch rival. The key difference occurs on the in-lap and out lap. This would suggest that Verstappen is able to switch his Pirelli tyres on quicker than Hamilton manages to do so in his Mercedes with the quicker out-lap. The faster in-lap also suggests that tyre preservation is better with the Red Bull driver. This is a key area that Mercedes must aim to fix if they want to recover the deficit in the World Championship.

The Mercedes power unit has come under the microscope, but that seems to be working perfectly well in the McLaren of Lando Norris. In fact, Norris was the quickest driver through sector one during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. Sector one at the Red Bull Ring is one of the most basic sectors on the F1 calendar. It consists of just the long home straight, a right turn and then another long straight. A good measure of straight-line pace. 

George Russell and Sebastian Vettel, who use a Mercedes engine, were also quicker than Hamilton and Bottas through that first sector. Though the differences are only marginal with less than one-tenth splitting those Mercedes engine drivers. The four Honda drivers recorded the four fastest times behind Norris.

Is the pit stop time loss replicated?

Losing this much time to their rivals in the pit stops leaves Mercedes vulnerable to an undercut on most circuits if you're ahead. Likewise, it makes it so much easier for Red Bull to defend an undercut attempt if the Austrian team are ahead. It reduces the number of strategic moves Mercedes can make during a race, almost as constricting as having an underperforming second driver. 

In the data table, we have taken the first pitstop of the race. For the Monaco Grand Prix, and Spanish Grand Prix, the pit stops for the two drivers took place 2-3 laps apart. And in Azerbaijan, Mercedes had a slow stop. 

Red Bull Racing have been upgrading their car during this series of races. Hamilton hasn't won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix. It's clear Mercedes need to solve this time difference. In practice for the Styrian Grand Prix, Bottas tried a second gear pull off and spun the car in the pit lane. Toto Wolff's team are trying something different, but must look at their tyre management and getting the tyres in the working zone quicker with the updates that are coming for Silverstone.