Original subtitles

- [Narrator] This is a Formula One pit stop in real time.

(machine whirring)

Within just two and a half seconds,

all four tires are changed

and even the car setup was modified.

And to understand how that is possible,

I've animated the entire thing

so we can take a look at it in slow motion.

(upbeat music)

The first factor determining the speed of the stop is

how well the driver manages getting into the pits.

Every pit lane has a strict speed limit.

On tracks with particularly tight or short layouts

like Monaco, the speed is capped at 60 kilometers an hour,

but on most circuits it's 80 or about 50 MPH.

In order to lose little time, the driver tries to break

as late as possible when entering the pit lane.

Once past this line,

the driver presses a dedicated button on the steering wheel

that locks the car to the speed limit.

Next, the driver turns into the box

and has to place the car as precise as possible

as the entire pit crew is positioned with pinpoint accuracy.

If the driver overshoots even slightly,

the whole team has to adjust, stepping forward to compensate

and wasting valuable time.

To help the driver nail their mark,

teams use a mechanical arm with an arrow in the pit box

and the perfect stop happens when the front tires

line up exactly beneath that arrow.

One of the boldest roles in the pit crew

belongs to the front jack operator.

This person stands directly in front of the car,

positioning the front jack

so that it catches just a bit of momentum

from the nose cone as the car comes to a halt.

Then in once move motion,

the operator lifts the car from the front.

At the same time, behind the car,

the rear jack operator gets into position.

Since they need to leave room for the car to enter,

they're slightly slower than the front jack,

but the moment the car stops,

they also slide a jack into place lifting the back wheels.

Meanwhile, on either side of the car,

two stabilizers step in.

Their job is to absorb the sudden jolts from lifting,

making sure it's perfectly aligned for the stop.

For changing the actual tires,

the wheel change crew consists of 12 people,

three for each tire.

At the center of each team

is the person holding the wheel gun.

Even before the car stops,

this person is tracking its movement aligning themselves

so they can instantly lock onto the wheel knot

and apply torque the moment they get a chance.

Unlike regular car wheels, which are typically fastened

with five bolts, an F1 tire is secured

with just one single lock knot precision manufactured

with multiple poles that the wheel gun can lock onto.

The wheel guns themselves are custom made for this purpose

and require immense strength to operate.

That is because they can spin at up to 15,000 RPM

enough force to rip it right out of your hands

if you aren't ready for it.

Since a couple of years,

the front of each wheel gun features an LED ring

that shows the real-time status to the operator.

The exact color coding varies from team to team,

but in our example, the gun initially glows white indicating

that it is in loosening mode.

As soon as the tire is loose

and the gunman releases the trigger,

the wheel gun then automatically switches its mode.

The LED changes from white to blue,

and the gun has entered its tightening mode,

meaning the next time the trigger is pulled,

it will spin in the opposite direction.

(dramatic music)

As this is happening, the person in front of the tire

quickly moves it aside, and in perfect synchronization,

the person behind is bringing the fresh tire into position

so that the wheel gun operator can begin tightening it.

The wheel gun automatically detects

when the wheel is fully secured

and the LED ring now lights up green.

As soon as that happens,

the gunman presses a button on the gun

sending an electronic confirmation

that their task is complete.

While all of this is unfolding,

the front jack operator has already stepped aside

to clear the space for the car's release.

The jack is designed to keep the car lifted up

while it swivels out of place,

and once they're in a safe position,

the jack operator presses a button on the jack

to confirm they're also ready.

Each of these button presses serves one purpose,

to ensure that every key function signals when they're done.

(dramatic music)

The driver in the meantime isn't watching the crew.

They are focused on a traffic light in front of them,

and until every single crew member has pressed their button,

it will remain red.

Because while the front tires are done,

the rears still need to be secured.

These often take slightly longer to finish simply

because the rear jack lifts the car

a fraction of a second later than the front jack.

And on top of that, the rear tires are larger

and heavier than the front ones,

making them a bit trickier to handle.

Sometimes a driver will have radioed in a message

that they'd like their front wing

to be adjusted during the stop.

If that is the case, two mechanics step in

from the front of the car,

each carrying a pre-programmed torque driver,

they insert it into designated holes on the front wing,

and the torque driver rotates a screw

by a precise number of turns

adjusting the angle of the front wing,

which changes to car's aerodynamics.

(dramatic music)

Just as these adjustments are done,

the rear tires are also secured.

All four gunmen have signaled they're done

and the front jack operator has given the all clear,

but for safety reasons,

the light doesn't switch to green automatically.

Instead, the crew chief who oversees everything,

provides the final confirmation.

Only when all has gone to plan

and when the pit lane is clear

with no other cars blocking the exit,

does the crew chief press the button.

The front jack drops the car, the light turns green,

and the car takes off.

(rocking music)

All that in just two and a half seconds.

(gentle music)

In Formula One, clear communication

can make or break a race.

And the same is also true in aviation.

And what happens when communication goes bad

is what I explore in my full length video

about the Tenerife Disaster.

(gentle music)

The video tells the story

of how in 1977, 2 Boeing 747s collided

with each other on a runway.

It is to this day the worst accident in aviation history,

and it was one of my most ambitious videos I ever worked on.

This video is part of my documentary series "Under Exposure"

a series where I bring fascinating stories to light

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one of the people involved.

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So thanks for the support

and thank you so much for watching this video.