Pit Stop Strategy Calculator – FREE (Tyres, F1)
A quick calculator to determine the pit stop strategy. Enter lap times at start and end of stint, this pit stop calculator gives the optimal stint length all else being equal.
Data should be updated every lap to get most relevant data. This site is an excellent source of live F1 timing data.
Limitations – Pit Stop Strategy Calculator
This calculator has a few limitations.
It assumes tyre degradation is linear, where it may not be.
It also assumes that the next set of tyres will be the same as the ones on the car at the moment.
This is a problem if for example we go from mediums to hards. Because hard tyres may be slower than the mediums, it may be worth going further on the medium tyres ie further than what this pit stop calculator suggests.
Notes
You’ll notice that one of the key drivers of how long a stint should be is what the current lap time of the car is versus what is was at the start of the stint.
Live or Advance Planning
The calculator can be used in real time or it can be used before the race. Enter different scenarios eg change how much degradation you are willing to suffer and see what the total stint time is versus less or more degradation.
For example if your race mandates three stops with the same compound tyres, adjust the degradation (lap time loss numbers) until you get to the optimum stint size that fits with three stops eg quarter race length.
If you have good data pre race, obviously this makes planning easier.
No Data
If for whatever reason you don’t have good tyre deg data, updating the fields in the calculator as the race progresses in the first stint should hopefully get you in the ball park with regards to how much degradation you need to tolerate to make the race in three stops and in the fastest possible time.
