27/11/2017
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton has won the 2017 DHL Fastest Lap Award for the highest number of fastest racing laps over the course of the season, while his team receives the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award for consistently achieving the fastest pit stops.
DHL, the official logistics partner of Formula One, presented the Fastest Lap and Fastest Pit Stop Awards in Abu Dhabi, Lewis Hamilton having previously won the accolade in both 2014 and 2015. The title passes to Hamilton from last year's winner, Nico Rosberg, so that Hamilton is now tied in the overall rankings with previous record holder Sebastian Vettel.
"It is never our specific target to set fastest lap in a race, so when we do, it is a sign of how quick our car has been in race conditions," said Hamilton. "It also shows the consistency of the tyres this year.
"These cars are the fastest we have ever driven in F1," he continued, "and it has been cool to set a few all-time lap records. They have been a challenge for us drivers to master, more physical to drive, and that is how it should be."
The DHL Fastest Lap Award has been presented to the driver with the highest number of fastest laps in a season since 2007, however, the 2017 season was given added excitement courtesy of the various rule changes, one of which being the wider tires and cars.
As a result of the new dimensions, the contact surface of the tires was increased by 25 percent. Wider front and rear wings created more downforce and thus enabled higher speeds. Drivers and teams were able to achieve even faster lap times than in previous years, with new lap records set at no less than eleven races.
The DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award went to Mercedes, marking the first time the team has received the accolade. Presented since 2015, the award honours the outstanding behind-the-scenes team performances that play a key role in driver success.
A new points system was introduced in 2017 for the award, stimulating even keener competition between the teams on the race track and in the pits: The award does not just go to the team with the fastest pit stop, but to the team that most consistently achieves the fastest pit stops over the course of a given season – an achievement that has become an even greater challenge with the concurrent introduction of wider, heavier tires.
Like the points system for the driver and constructor championships, each team and each driver is evaluated on the basis of their respective fastest pit stop results in each of the races. The ten fastest pit stops are awarded points on a scale of one to 25: According to the new rules, the fastest pit stop receives 25 points, while the tenth fastest receives one. The overall winner was Mercedes gaining the highest number of points for the entire season, a total of 465 points. The best time in the individual ranking was achieved by Williams with a pit stop time of 2.02 seconds at the British Grand Prix.
"The pit-stop is a crucial moment of the race and can make the difference between winning and losing," said Ross Brawn, Managing Director, Motorsports at Formula 1. "It's not only a matter of how fast a crew can change the tyres each race, but also how consistent they are throughout the season.
"By winning the 2017 DHL Fastest Pit Stop, Mercedes proved to be the most consistent and the best in class this season, so congratulations to them!"