McLaren beat Ferrari for fastest pit stop in Austria

Having been the quickest in the pit lane in eight of the first ten races, Ferrari were fractionally beaten by McLaren at the Red Bull Ring not just in terms of outright pace, but also in terms of pit stops.

In this season’s first ten races, McLaren have been no match for Ferrari in the battle for the DHL Fastest Pit Stop. With Team Principal Andrea Stella, the crew have had a terrific showing, producing a whole series of speedy pit stops, but it’s not been enough to put them right out in front even after setting the pit stop world record with a time of 1.80 seconds back in 2023.

Still, the eleventh race of the 2025 Formula 1 season saw McLaren return to the top for the first time this year. McLaren’s crew turned around Oscar Piastri’s car in a time of 2.10 seconds during his second pit stop just before the end, which then led to an amazing battle for the finish after Piastri and teammate Lando Norris had fought hard but fairly for the win throughout the race.

The race was also a victory of sorts for McLaren’s mechanics. During the first round of pit stops, the front left wheels on the two cars had been reluctant to come free and both tire swaps had taken more than three seconds, but by still remaining focused, they executed the DHL Fastest Pit Stop for Piastri on his second visit to the pit lane.

The distance between McLaren and Ferrari may be huge, but their performance in Austria has put them in a good position in the fight for the DHL Fastest Pit Stop award, as they are now in second place. Despite benefiting from the fastest tire change, Piastri finished the race in second place behind Norris whose driving performance was simply perfect – at least this weekend.