Drivers give mixed reviews to Monaco two-stop rule

The new Monaco Grand Prix rule, which required drivers to use three sets of tyres during the race, received mixed reviews from leading Formula 1 drivers.

The narrow street circuit’s tendency toward uneven grands prix is becoming more and more important as a result of the change.

The purpose of the rule was to add more risk. In Monaco, overtaking is almost impossible, and races have traditionally been processional if it hasn’t rain.

Lewis Hamilton, the team’s driver, claimed that while the rule “didn’t make a big difference necessarily for me,” F1 bosses “need to keep trying with this one.”

Lando Norris, the champion race car, claimed the rule had “just given people opportunity by luck by waiting for a red flag, waiting for a safety car.”

In the end, the Briton said, “You’re not getting a more deserved winner, which I don’t entirely agree with. The winner, in my opinion, should be the one who conducts the best race.

What actually transpired during the race is what Norris’ remarks reflect. Max Verstappen, a fourth-place finisher for Red Bull, didn’t make his final pit stop until the final lap.

He took the podium over Oscar Piastri, Norris, Charles Leclerc, and Oscar Piastri of McLaren.

In the final section of the race, the idea was to hope there was a red flag. Verstappen would have benefited from a provision that permits drivers to change tires after a race has ended.

Verstappen would have won the race and restarted on brand-new tires if that had happened. He made his final necessary stop at the start of the final lap, which was a change from the previous one, which put him back in fourth.

According to Norris, “It depends on what you want.” Would you like to produce a race? There haven’t been any more overtakings in this case. That was what I believed to be desired.

Verstappen once said, “We had nothing to lose.”

Norris continued, “Monegasque overtaking has never been a good experience.” I’m not sure why people have such high expectations, therefore. However, I believe that Formula 1 shouldn’t be merely a show to entertain people. It is a sport. Who can qualify the best and who can race the best?

“Everything happened yesterday,” he said. Since whatever the first year has been, it has been that way, 50 or 60 years. Therefore, manufactured racing is the last thing I want, and we must avoid that and do a better job of using cars and tires.

Piastri, the championship leader, added, “It definitely made it a little more tense at a few points. You had to push harder at specific points to prevent other people from getting into their safety car windows, or to put yourself in their safety car window. There were also some tactical considerations. However, I don’t believe it changed much in the end because it was so dominant.

If there had been a red flag and Max had won with five laps left, it would have been a completely different story. If we continue this in the future, I’m certain that something similar will happen. Do we want that to happen? I’m not sure. But I don’t believe it significantly altered this weekend at the front.

The race was interesting in terms of the number of scenarios that needed to be taken into account, according to McLaren team principal Andrea Stella.

The fact that you cannot surpass other people’s limitations is still the main one. This has a structural limitation of some degree. I’m not sure how this can be altered, just by imposing a certain number of pit stops, exactly.

Stella expressed interest in whether the new regulations for the following year, which make cars 10 centimeters narrower than they were this year and have a new engine design, will help.

“I hope that this change in the cars will allow overtaking, at least when you are three seconds faster,” Stella said. “At the moment, if you are three seconds faster, you can still overtake,” she said.

“But this has a lot to do with the car’s size, car’s speed, and grip, which means that the braking zones are anyhow very, very short. Simply put, there isn’t enough room for braking.

Toto Wolff, the team’s principal, said, “We tried something, we tried an experiment with two-stop, and the outcome didn’t change anything.”

Wolff argued that F1 should look into enacting a rule to stop teams from backing up the field against other drivers, as Racing Bulls and Williams did on Sunday.

However, the police would find it “impossible” to follow such a rule, according to Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur.

It’s a very, very challenging track, Hamilton continued. You must not surpass anyone. Still, a stunning sight and location. There are many. There are never so many people here. It is insane.