The team did not field the best car in 2010 but Mercedes’ pit crew was the fastest in pitlane.

An analysis by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport showed that the Brackley based team turned around Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg faster in pitstops than any rival outfit.

The refuelling ban this year put in focus the speed of a pit crew’s tyre changing.

The fastest stop in 2010 was 2.9 seconds, achieved by the Red Bull crew whilst servicing world champion Sebastian Vettel at Monza.

But overall, Mercedes’ was the fastest crew, emerging with the quickest stop of the race no less than 8 times — in Malaysia, Turkey, Germany, China, Spain, Monaco, Britain and Belgium.

Red Bull was next best, changing the RB6′s tyres quickest of all in Bahrain, Australia, Hungary, Italy and Abu Dhabi.

Ferrari’s pit crew was quickest three times, and Sauber was best in Korea and Brazil. The fastest pitstop was achieved by McLaren only once this season, in Japan.

Mercedes’ quick stops were achieved with a fully automatic ‘traffic light’ system which is up to half a second faster than using a traditional ‘lollipop man’.

Red Bull, meanwhile, reportedly selected its key tyre changers after a series of tests and training sessions last winter, and the lollipop-holder was chosen after winning a psychological exam.

At the bottom of the list in 2010 was Lotus, with five slowest pitstops of the race overall, followed by four wooden spoons apiece for HRT and Renault.