WEBVTT - How many people does it take to do a Formula 1 pit stop?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stop from house stop works dot com

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<v Speaker 1>where smart happens. Hi. I'm Marshall Brain with today's question,

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<v Speaker 1>how many people does it take to perform a Formula

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<v Speaker 1>one pit stop in just seven or so seconds? If

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<v Speaker 1>you've ever watched a Formula one race, or a NASCAR

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<v Speaker 1>race for that matter, you know that the pit stop

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<v Speaker 1>is an important part of winning in Formula one. A

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<v Speaker 1>well executed pit stop can replace all four tires, refuel

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<v Speaker 1>the car with many gallons of gas, and do it

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<v Speaker 1>all in roughly seven seconds. So how do they do it?

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<v Speaker 1>They use a lot of well coordinated manpower. Most of

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<v Speaker 1>that manpower is focused on the tires. It takes fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>people to replace them. Three people handle each tire, One

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<v Speaker 1>person takes the old tire off, one person puts the

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<v Speaker 1>new tire on, and one person handles the pneumatic wrench.

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<v Speaker 1>Then two or three more people jack the car up

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<v Speaker 1>and down for the couple of seconds necessary to slide

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<v Speaker 1>the tires on and off. Two other people handle fuelling.

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<v Speaker 1>The reason it takes two people is because the fuelling

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<v Speaker 1>hose is massive. It has to be, since nine leaders

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<v Speaker 1>are more than two gallons of fuel are flowing per

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<v Speaker 1>second through that hose. Then there are two more people

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<v Speaker 1>on a backup refueling rig. Now we're up to nineteen people.

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<v Speaker 1>The fireman is standing by with a fire extinguisher in

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<v Speaker 1>his hand in case something goes wrong in that fueling

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<v Speaker 1>process and a fire breaks out. Then there's a person

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<v Speaker 1>there with the engine starter. There's no built in starter

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<v Speaker 1>motor on a Formula one car. It's done with a

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<v Speaker 1>separate tool, and he's there in case the engine cuts

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<v Speaker 1>off while it's in the pit. The pneumatic man deals

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<v Speaker 1>with the pressurized pneumatic system used in place of valve

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<v Speaker 1>springs on F one cars. Heat checks and repressurizes the

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<v Speaker 1>system when necessary. Then there's also an extra person to

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<v Speaker 1>wipe off the driver's visor and supply water. He doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>come out on every pit stop, but he can be out,

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<v Speaker 1>and in some cases there are two people to provide

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<v Speaker 1>adjustments to the front and rear wings. They also don't

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<v Speaker 1>come out every time, but if adjustments are needed, there there. Finally,

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<v Speaker 1>the last person is called the lollipop Man. He handles

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<v Speaker 1>a big round sign that resembles a lollipop and it

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<v Speaker 1>tells the driver what to do at the end. Of

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<v Speaker 1>the pit stop. It's this guy's job to get the

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<v Speaker 1>driver out of the pits and as little time as possible.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a total of twenty six people. They're not all

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<v Speaker 1>used on every pit stop, but you will always see

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<v Speaker 1>at least twenty people making the seven second pit stop possible.

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