Despite being one of the legacy races in F1, the Monaco GP often gets criticized for the lack of overtaking action. The 78-lap race in the Principality is a boring affair, more often than not. Teams look to complete their mandatory pit stop in the first half of the Grand Prix and then just settle back in their position without much chance to pass.
To break this trend, the FIA and the World Motorsport Council (WMSC) recently made the Monaco GP a mandatory two-stop race in all conditions. This rule also means that all drivers will have to use at least three different tire compounds if it’s a dry race.
Many experts have been debating this new rule for Monaco — some have supported it, with the hope that it could spice up the strategic aspect, while some believe that it may not solve the fundamental issue of the narrow street circuit.
However, drivers like Lewis Hamilton have been advocating to add such ‘variability’ to the Monaco GP for years. In fact, when the seven-time world champion was asked in Bahrain about the rule change, he was happy to reiterate his old comments.
“I’m pretty sure that was my idea anyways. I’ve been mentioning the two-stop for years, so I think it, Monaco has to be at least a two-stop,” Hamilton said.
The #44 driver has been busy acclimatizing himself with his new team Ferrari and testing his new car — the SF-25 — during the ongoing pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Lewis on new monaco gp rule: I’m pretty sure that was my idea anyways “I’ve been mentioning the two-stop for years, so I think it, Monaco has to be at least a two-stop”
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While the Monaco GP is months away, this new update has added an interesting subplot to the pre-season talks among drivers. Many would welcome such an addition to resurrect the dull race in Monaco. With the dimensions of the current generation of cars being too wide, an additional strategic element could liven up the race.
Hamilton is all for strategic excitement in Monaco
Firstly, it needs to be admitted that the narrow nature of the Monaco street circuit doesn’t leave many options on the table to make the race more exciting. With a track carved out along almost the entire country of Monaco, sandwiched between the Mediterranean Sea and Mont Agel, there isn’t much real estate to make the track wider or change its layout.
That is why, Hamilton has been vouching for adding some strategic excitement for the race in the Principality. Last year, the Briton highlighted how he wished Monaco had bigger roads, which could’ve made the track wider. But sadly, that ain’t the case and may never be.
“The race is continuously pretty much the same; it is a one-stop race, so I would say that maybe having special tires for this race so you have more pit-stops, create more variability,” Hamilton stated per RacingNews365.
The seven-time world champion joked how people can fall asleep watching the race with no overtaking on Sundays in Monaco, so they must do something about the ‘Crown Jewel’ of F1. Apparently, Pirelli could be introducing a special softer tire compound (C6) for Monaco, which could be perfect for a two-stopper and in line with Hamilton’s suggestion.
Time will tell if the two-stop mandate could spice up the Monaco GP or not. The 2025 edition of the Grand Prix is going to be utterly crucial to determine if the iconic circuit can produce better racing action.
