Pit Crew
- Brand
- Google Chrome
- Year
- 2022
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Tech & Telecom
- Mechanic
- Racing & Sports
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Active Theory
Objective
Chrome had just become McLaren F1's tire-branding partner, and Chrome wanted to make that partnership land with F1 fans ahead of the team's home race, the 2022 US Grand Prix in Austin. The pitch was to translate browser speed into something visceral: let people feel what a pit-stop's split seconds actually mean. The game backed a Lando Norris social video series, giving viewers a place to test themselves after watching him race his own crew.
Solution
The game opens on a 3D McLaren pit lane as the car rolls in, mechanics and driver animated around it. From there the player runs four quick challenges back to back: jack up the car, pull and refit a wheel, hold the car steady, then launch off the green light — each move scored on timing and precision. The four scores combine into a single pit-stop time at the end of the run. That time drops the player into a leaderboard that resets daily, so there's always a fresh shot at the top spot, and they can generate a shareable card with their result to post.
- 1
The game runs directly in a browser at a dedicated URL, with no download or install, and adapts to both mobile and desktop screens.
- 2
A 3D pit-stop scene of a McLaren F1 car, animated crew members, and a pilot sets the stage for a sequence of four timed challenges.
- 3
The first challenge has the player time the placement and lift of a jack as the car pulls into the pit stop, with mistimed input costing fractions of a second.
- 4
The second challenge has the player swap the front-left wheel, removing the old one and fitting a new one by operating a power wrench against the clock.
- 5
The third challenge tests balance, separate from the timing- and speed-based challenges around it, though the specific object or action being balanced is not documented.
- 6
In the fourth challenge the player moves into the pilot's seat and must launch the car from the pit stop the instant the signal light turns green.
- 7
After completing the sequence, the player sees a combined time and their rank on a live leaderboard that resets daily.
- 8
The game generates a shareable card displaying the player's time, for posting the result on social media.
