Pit Stands

[Radley]

Are the pit stands really functional or more just for vanity? They have so many monitors they can't even see the track.

[bdr529]

They are still able to see what the other teams are up to from that view point, I'm sure they find that useful.
Plus it's another place to put sponsor logos

[Cuky]

well, they don't need to see the track (they will still see only start straight) when the track is covered with TV cameras (and they see it on their monitors) plus they have radio communication with drivers and telemetry and transponders in cars to see where they are and what is happening to them. You might compare that with submarine control room. Captain can't really see what is outside, but he and his crew have lots of monitors which are showing them all the data they need so that they can work out where and how deep they are.

[Moxie]

They are still able to see what the other teams are up to from that view point, I'm sure they find that useful.
Plus it's another place to put sponsor logos

When the cameras are focused on Christian Horner, they are also focused on the "infinity/ Red Bull" logo on his head set and on his sleeve. That is valuable exposure time that would be passed up if Red Bull didn't have a pit box.

[Scootin159]

All the top racing series here in the US (NASCAR, IndyCar, Tudor SportsCar, etc) all have essentially the same thing - they just position them differently. In the US nobody except for a signboard guy (and even then most tracks don't even allow that) is allowed out at the pit wall. At most places the pitwall isn't anything other than a wall anyways, so there's nowhere for anyone to sit out there (if they tried they'd be sitting in the "fast lane" of pit lane). Instead they all sit behind the inboard pitwall (remember, most tracks here don't have garages directly off pit road) on top of their massive rolling toolboxes. This picture shows it well:



I know at many WEC events they do it F1 style though, with the team managers sitting out on pit wall.

[Radley]

Thanks everybody- all of you have made good points.
With the NASCAR pit boxes they can see 50% of the track too, except at Watkins Glenn & Sonoma.
I just think the pit stands have outlived their usefulness and have grown into these big billboards. It's not like Colin Chapman standing there with a stopwatch anymore.
The pit stands for LeMans I think are the biggest jokes, hey,here comes your car every 4 minutes?