Another record! Red Bull has just completed the first-ever pit stop in complete darkness

Red Bull Racing (RBR) has just redefined the meaning of ‘lights out and away we go’ by completing a pit stop in complete darkness - a feat never before achieved. Because what else are you supposed to do when you’re bored with winning everything, eh?

Preparation was kept to a minimal, so the pit crew were allowed just three blindfolded practice attempts before quite literally being thrown into darkness. With 27 specialist cameras recording the 22-strong team, the seemingly impossible ‘Pitch Black Pit Stop’ was done on the 10th attempt in a time of 2.84s. That’s about the same time a person takes to blink after a few glasses of gin. 

For further perspective, that’s just one second away from RBR’s former world record pit stop time of 1.82s, set in the sweltering heat of the 2019 São Paulo GP. RBR also says the pit crew’s visors were blacked out for good measure, just in case they gained the ability to see in the dark overnight or something.

The crew had originally targeted a sub-three-second time within 10 attempts, and the first of those was recorded at 8.84s. This shows just how quickly the team were able to adapt using nothing but their intuition, muscle memory and touch. Though we’d have dreaded to have been the front jack operator, unless the terms and conditions explicitly stated that we’d be covered in a dozen pillows.

Jonathan Wheatley, sporting director of Oracle Red Bull Racing, said: “The sense of sight, being able to see the car, your teammates and what you are doing are intrinsic to a successful stop, so having that taken away presented some serious hurdles. 

“However, what soon became clear is how fluid the team are in their approach, communication, ability and cohesive spirit; that the task at hand was almost second nature. I’m certainly not saying that I would like to turn the lights out in a race, but being able to pull this off so succinctly, in the pitch black, shows what a well-oiled machine the crew is.”

This isn’t the first time RBR has attempted (and successfully completed) something of this nature either, with the pit crew managing a zero gravity pit stop back in late 2019. We wonder what’s next. Perhaps a pit stop at the Mariana’s Trench, or on top of Mount Everest?