Lift and coast
Lift and coast is a driving technique where a driver lifts off the throttle and coasts toward the braking zone of a corner rather than carrying full throttle until the brake point. It reduces fuel consumption, brake temperature, and energy through the tyres at the cost of a small amount of lap time. Teams use it to extend stint length and manage components.
How it works
In a normal driving line, a driver stays full throttle until a fixed brake point, then transitions hard into the brake pedal. With lift and coast, the driver lifts off the throttle some metres before the brake point, lets the car decelerate on engine braking and aerodynamic drag, then applies the brakes for less time and less load.
The technique trades a small lap-time penalty for meaningful savings in three areas:
- Fuel consumption. Less throttle time per lap means less fuel burned.
- Brake temperatures. Lighter braking under lower entry speed reduces brake disc and pad wear.
- Tyre energy. Less aggressive corner entry reduces the energy put through the tyres, slowing thermal degradation[1].
When teams instruct it
Lift and coast is a common tool race engineers reach for when:
- The driver is under-fuelled for the remaining race distance and needs to stretch consumption to make the finish.
- The brake temperature is climbing into a warning range that risks failure.
- A long stint is required and tyre management is the deciding factor in the strategy (a one-stop where the alternative is a slow two-stop).
- The car must hold position and there is no chasing threat close enough to exploit the small pace drop.
How drivers feel about it
:::analysis Lift and coast is universally unpopular with drivers. The whole instinct of a racing driver runs against deliberately driving below maximum capacity. Race radio in Formula 1 is full of drivers questioning lift-and-coast instructions from their pit wall, particularly when their car has perceived pace in hand.
The flip side is that drivers who manage lift and coast well often win races where the cars with raw pace cannot finish at all. The 2018 German Grand Prix and several Mercedes-era one-stop wins were built on exactly this technique. :::
Lift and coast vs straight lift
Race engineers distinguish "lift" from "lift and coast" in radio language:
- Lift is a brief throttle release used to manage a specific moment (engine temperature, tyre slip).
- Lift and coast is a sustained release across multiple corners every lap, used as a stint-management strategy.
Drivers may hear instructions like "lift 100 metres before the brake zone at Turn 8 only" or the broader "we need lift and coast through this stint".
Related
- [1]Pirelli Motorsport F1 compound information (pirelli-f1). Accessed 2026-05-25.
- [2]Glossary of motorsport terms (Wikipedia) (wikipedia-en). Accessed 2026-05-25.