The pit stop in F1

By NS Ramnath/Forbes India

How one designer turned his attention away from Formula One cars to make them go faster

About 30 years ago, Gordon Murray, chief designer at Motor Racing Developments, better known as Brabham, a British racing car manufacturer, spent all his days agonising over a problem that was also in the minds of every other mechanical engineer in his field: How to design a car that will outpace the rest, and win the championship at Formula One? He achieved it by designing a better pit stop.

In the 1980s, Formula One was an old game that had been around for 30 years. The basic principles were all known. You make the car run faster by making the design more aerodynamic, by increasing the engine power, and making a good blend of fuel. By then, some of the most significant breakthroughs in design were already made.

It was then that Murray, who was born in South Africa to a motorcycle racer and had moved to the UK, had a different idea. His approach had very little to do with the design of the car itself and it changed the way teams competed.