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McLaren bullish after new pitstop record during the German Grand Prix

McLaren sporting director Sam Michael is confident that the team's pit woes are behind it after again setting a new pitstop record during the German Grand Prix

Michael claimed a 2.31-second stationary time for its best stop, which was timed at 2.4s by the FIA, and believes that the inevitable pitlane errors that affect all teams are now only measured in terms of lost tenths, rather than seconds, for McLaren.

"We still have issues, the same as any team in the pitlane so we will still have stops where things happen but the guys have a really good margin now," said Michael when asked by AUTOSPORT if McLaren's early-season pitstop troubles are now in the past.

"If they do a 3.1-second stop, it feels incredibly slow and that's pretty much the stop time that everybody else is doing. So they have got the margin to lose seven or eight tenths and, while not the quickest, still be very competitive."

Michael added that McLaren can still improve on its pitstops and that ways to improve consistency are still being evaluated and implemented.

The fact that McLaren has been consistently quick over the past two races suggest that it is achieving its goal despite costly mistakes in almost every race from the Australian to the European Grand Prix.

"We've still got lots of work to do," he said. "There are so many humans involved in the process that what you have got to look at is how you limit the recovery time so it's a question of tenths rather than seconds.

"That's what we have focused on to get consistency. We don't have any incentive to break pit-stop records. They come by default because we work to get consistent."

Michael believes that the pit crew's contribution to Jenson Button's successful race will be a big boost after heavy criticism earlier in the year.

"They broke their record again with a 2.31s stationary time and it was decisive to get past Vettel," said Michael. "It's so rewarding for the pit crew to do that when it actually makes a position difference on the track.

"It gives justification to them over why they do it. They don't do it just to be quickest, they do it to gain position. This is fantastic for the crew."

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