Formula 1 – The Pit lane

The track section in-between the first safety car line and the beginning of the pit lane is known as the pit entry, while the section of track between the end of the pit lane and the Safety car’s second line is called the pit exit.

The pit lane comprises two lanes.

The first is the one closer to the pit wall (boundary of the circuit) and is called the fast lane. FIA’s rules require that this lane has a maximum of 3.5 metres wide. No equipment may be left in the fast lane with the exception of the one needed to handle a car that starts the race from the pit.

The lane closer to the teams’ pit boxes is known as the inside or inner lane. The FIA grants each team garages and an area in the pit lane where each team may work and handle the car. Within each of these designated garage areas, one position is defined where pit stops during both practice and the race may be carried out. Apart from when cars are at the end of the pit lane under (for example, because they were forced to start the race from the pit), the inner lane is the only area where any work can be carried out on a car.

During all free practice sessions the maximum speed in the pit lane is 60 km/h. During race, this limit is  raised to 100 km/h (80 Km in Monaco during races due to a very tight pit lane). However, this limit may be altered due to safety reasons by the stewards following a recommendation from the FIA F1 safety delegate.

The driver enters the pit lane at full speed but has to reduce the speed to the pit lane speed limit before crossing the pit lane entry line. As he crosses it, he engages a pit lane speed limiter that electronically prevents the car from running above the speed limit

Unless a car is pushed from the grid at any time during the start procedure, cars may only be driven from the teams’ designated garage area to the end of the pit lane. Any car(s) driven to the end of the pit lane prior to the start or restart of a practice session, or any car(s) required to stop at the pit exit during a safety car period, must form up in a line in the fast lane and leave in the order they got there unless another car is unduly delayed.

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