Pit stops
F1 2026 Pit Stops - Time Lost in the Pit Lane
A pit stop in 2026 costs a median of 23.1 seconds in the pit lane. Mercedes lose the least time of any team, at a median 22.1s across 47 stops. The gap between circuits is wider than the gap between teams: Dutch Grand Prix charges 18.1s against 31.5s at Spanish Grand Prix.
This is not the stationary time you see on TV
Broadcast graphics and DHL’s Fastest Pit Stop award measure the time the car spends stationary on the jacks — usually under three seconds. These figures measure something different and, for strategy, more useful: total time lost in the pit lane, from entry to exit. That includes the pit lane speed limit, its length, traffic and any unsafe release, which together are what actually decide whether a stop is worth making.
Season median · 2026 · 15 rounds
lost per stop, pit entry to exit
22.1s
Quickest team
Mercedes
18.1s
Cheapest circuit
Dutch Grand Prix
31.5s
Costliest circuit
Spanish Grand Prix
By team
Median across every stop the team has made this season, so one botched wheel gun doesn’t define a year and one perfect stop doesn’t either. The best column is their single quickest stop.
| # | Team | Median lost | Best | Stops | Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes | 22.080 | 15.102 | 47 | 15 |
| 2 | McLaren | 22.356 | 15.143 | 46 | 13 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 22.427 | 15.546 | 50 | 14 |
| 4 | RB F1 Team | 22.599 | 16.042 | 40 | 14 |
| 5 | Audi | 22.785 | 15.275 | 49 | 15 |
| 6 | Red Bull | 22.892 | 15.212 | 48 | 15 |
| 7 | Alpine F1 Team | 22.989 | 18.003 | 44 | 14 |
| 8 | Williams | 23.089 | 15.989 | 58 | 15 |
| 9 | Haas F1 Team | 24.027 | 16.161 | 47 | 15 |
| 10 | Aston Martin | 24.194 | 17.200 | 40 | 13 |
| 11 | Cadillac F1 Team | 25.056 | 15.093 | 50 | 14 |
By circuit — what it costs to stop here
The number that decides whether a one-stop is on. Pit lanes differ by several seconds from track to track — far more than the teams differ from each other — which is why the same strategy call is obvious at one circuit and a gamble at the next.
| Round | Grand Prix | Median lost | Quickest stop | Stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Azerbaijan Grand Prix | 20.603 | 15.093 | 36 |
| 14 | Spanish Grand Prix | 31.483 | 30.622 | 25 |
| 13 | Italian Grand Prix | 26.394 | 24.246 | 9 |
| 12 | Dutch Grand Prix | 18.074 | 17.082 | 42 |
| 11 | Hungarian Grand Prix | 22.015 | 21.326 | 45 |
| 10 | Belgian Grand Prix | 24.736 | 22.638 | 28 |
| 9 | British Grand Prix | 29.584 | 28.337 | 51 |
| 8 | Austrian Grand Prix | 21.561 | 21.020 | 41 |
| 7 | Barcelona Grand Prix | 22.703 | 21.677 | 47 |
| 6 | Monaco Grand Prix | 23.824 | 19.675 | 61 |
| 5 | Canadian Grand Prix | 25.418 | 23.418 | 34 |
| 4 | Miami Grand Prix | 23.127 | 17.173 | 22 |
| 3 | Japanese Grand Prix | 24.304 | 22.891 | 29 |
| 2 | Chinese Grand Prix | 23.390 | 22.433 | 19 |
| 1 | Australian Grand Prix | 18.934 | 17.649 | 30 |
Where these numbers come from
Every stop of the season, taken from official timing. The figure is the pit lane duration recorded for that stop — entry to exit — not the stationary time, as set out at the top of this page.
Medians rather than averages throughout. A single 40-second stop after a problem would drag a team’s average by more than a second and describe nothing about their normal work; the median describes the stop they usually make.