Two-Stop Strategy Experiment Doesn’t Fix Monaco’s Overtaking Problem

The compulsory two-stop strategy trialled at the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix simply confirmed what was already well-known: the historic 94-year-old street circuit is fundamentally too narrow to facilitate genuine overtaking opportunities.

Mandating a second pit stop was never going to alter the circuit`s inherent nature, but it offered a chance to add some tactical variety. While it arguably made the race slightly more dynamic than the previous year, with only a single legal overtake across 78 laps, Monaco`s core problem as an F1 circuit remained glaringly obvious.

“You can`t really race here,” commented reigning champion Max Verstappen, who finished fourth. “It doesn`t matter what strategy you use – one stop, two stops, ten stops. Even at the end, when my tires were completely worn, if you`re leading you still can`t be overtaken. With today`s F1 cars, you can practically only pass an F2 car around here. I understand the idea behind the mandatory two-stop rule, but I don`t believe it achieved its goal.”

He added humorously, “It felt almost like Mario Kart. We need to attach some gadgets to the cars, maybe throw some bananas around! Slippery surface!”

Whether the two-stop experiment was worthwhile remained a subject of debate after the race. George Russell, who spent a significant portion of the Grand Prix stuck behind the two Williams cars, firmly believed the rule had no positive impact.

“We definitely need to seriously consider what the actual solution for Monaco is,” Russell stated. “I appreciate the attempt to try the two-stop approach this year, but it clearly didn`t work effectively at all.”

There was a degree of tension in the closing laps, particularly with Verstappen, who had only completed one of his two required stops by Lap 77. He was trying to maintain track position, hoping for a late incident that would trigger a red flag, allowing him to make his final stop, keep the lead, and potentially snatch a victory. This strategic gamble arguably added some intrigue to the final 20 laps, even though the anticipated dramatic conclusion didn`t occur.

“I`d say it was an improvement; strategically, it was more interesting and brought more jeopardy,” commented Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. “It was definitely better than last year, which felt like a complete procession. However, the fundamental issue remains that you cannot overtake here, and you can easily drive three or four seconds slower than the car`s potential pace.”

For Lando Norris in the winning McLaren, the race was nerve-wracking despite sticking to a relatively conventional two-stop strategy on Laps 19 and 50. Even with the fastest car and a largely faultless drive, he faced the constant risk of his potential first Monaco victory being jeopardized by a poorly timed red flag incident for a competitor.

“It made it much more stressful for me,” he admitted, especially after Verstappen`s late strategic gamble brought Charles Leclerc`s Ferrari closer behind him. “I honestly wished it was a one-stop race; it would have been far more relaxed. But the rules aren`t designed for my comfort or driver enjoyment; they`re for the fans, to increase viewer entertainment. I`m not sure if this strategy achieved that.”

The difficulty in overtaking led to different tactical challenges, particularly in the midfield, where teams quickly realised they could use their two drivers cooperatively. The trailing driver could be instructed by the pit wall to deliberately slow down, creating a sufficient gap for their teammate ahead to make pit stops without losing track position to cars behind the slower teammate.

This tactic of deliberately driving slowly was notably employed by Liam Lawson, who was running ninth, three places behind his Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar. By consistently lapping two to four seconds slower than Hadjar, Lawson effectively held up the quicker Williams and Mercedes cars behind him. This manoeuvre allowed Hadjar to complete his two mandatory pit stops on Laps 14 and 19 and still rejoin the track ahead of Lawson and the following group.

Although Hadjar did lose a position to Lewis Hamilton during the process, the faster pace of the Ferrari compared to the Racing Bull meant the seven-time world champion always had the potential to get ahead through pit stop strategy, whether undercutting or overcutting.

Williams, unable to use their car`s potentially superior performance to overtake the Racing Bulls directly, then felt compelled to adopt similar tactics themselves to hold back the two Mercedes drivers, Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

Between Laps 25 and 40, Carlos Sainz deliberately drove several seconds slower than his teammate Alex Albon, who was ahead. This created the necessary buffer for Albon to make his two pit stops on Laps 32 and 40. After Albon had completed his stops, he allowed Sainz to repass on Lap 43 and then reciprocated by slowing down to hold up the Mercedes cars, enabling Sainz to make his required stops on Laps 48 and 53.

Russell became increasingly frustrated with these tactics and, on Lap 50, cut the Nouvelle Chicane to overtake Albon, fully aware that this move would incur a penalty. The stewards viewed Russell`s action unfavourably, imposing a drive-through penalty – considerably more severe than typical penalties for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Despite this, Russell did ultimately benefit from the move strategically in the context of the points positions and finished 11th.

“I didn`t really care about the penalty because I was outside the points anyway,” Russell commented. “I didn`t get the opportunity yesterday to truly enjoy driving in Monaco [after an electrical problem ended his qualifying], so I just thought, `Screw it, I want to enjoy Monaco.`”

“I wanted to enjoy driving this circuit absolutely flat out. It`s one of the best tracks globally. And that`s exactly what I did. The final 25 laps were the most enjoyable part of the entire weekend for me. It was quite exhilarating. I was genuinely pushing my limits, challenging myself. And ironically, as I mentioned, if I hadn`t made that move, I likely would have finished maybe 15th or 16th.”

After the race, Williams team principal James Vowles and his former Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff, reportedly exchanged text messages.

Vowles` message read: “I`m sorry. We had no alternative given the situation ahead of us.”

To which Wolff replied: “We understand.”

While this year`s two-stop rule made the tactic of deliberately slowing down to aid a teammate more prominent, and occasionally more pronounced, this strategy is far from new on the Monaco circuit.

“In the past, back in 2019, Lando did this for me when I was at McLaren, and I finished P6,” Sainz recalled. “So this practice has been happening in Monaco for years, and it`s currently permitted.”

“Today, I was on the receiving end [behind Lawson], and later I benefited from it [holding up the Mercedes]. Ultimately, I just don`t believe the sport should allow this kind of tactic, or we need to find a way to prevent it specifically at Monaco.”

Sainz was driving so slowly at certain points during Sunday`s race that he even had the mental bandwidth to contemplate potential solutions for F1 to address this issue.

“I actually had time in the car to think about it because I was driving so slowly, both behind and in front of other cars, that I kept wondering, `What rule could we introduce to stop this?`” Sainz explained. “Essentially, you are driving two or three seconds slower than the car is capable of. You are, in effect, manipulating the race flow and slightly manipulating the final result.”

“Therefore, we need to find a method to prevent this in the future, because I have a feeling that teams will resort to this tactic more and more each year; it`s becoming increasingly common over the last few seasons. In that respect, the two-stop rule perhaps added some strategic interest around the pit stop phases, but it also meant we had to perform this slow driving tactic twice, which isn`t beneficial for the sport.”

Toto Wolff suggested one possible solution could be implementing a minimum lap time that drivers must adhere to during the race. A similar regulation is already in place during qualifying to prevent cars from creating dangerous situations on in-laps and out-laps, but applying it during a race would introduce further complexities.

“I believe we could explore creating more specific regulations to limit the maximum extent to which a driver can deliberately slow down,” Wolff commented. “You shouldn`t be allowed to deliberately hold up a train of cars. Overtaking here is already difficult, but what if there was a rule saying you cannot lap slower than X seconds behind the leader? That might potentially keep the field a bit closer. Would it improve overtaking? I doubt that`s a feasible outcome.”

This analysis brings the discussion back to the core problem with the Monaco Grand Prix: the severe lack of overtaking zones and a track layout ill-suited for modern F1 cars. It`s not a new issue, but Horner feels it`s time to tackle it directly.

“I think the only realistic way to encourage any form of overtaking is to try and create a longer braking area somewhere,” Horner suggested. “Perhaps on the exit of the tunnel or into Turn 1 – if there`s any possibility to create a longer braking zone, we should seriously look into it. The cars are so large now that there`s simply no space to get alongside another car.”

“Ultimately, I think everything needs to evolve with the times. Monaco is an iconic and historic circuit, but considering how much the layout has changed with land reclamation over its 72 F1 appearances, I don`t think radical alterations are needed. There just needs to be one single point where overtaking is realistically possible. Everyone who comes here knows this is the primary challenge.”

“The outcome of the race was largely decided by qualifying,” Horner concluded. “We introduced an additional strategic element with the mandatory pit stops, but ultimately, among the cars that finished in the top 10, excluding retirements, nobody fundamentally changed position due to the strategy.”

Russell, perhaps still processing his frustration from the race, proposed another, more radical possibility. It`s an idea F1 would likely never implement and purists would undoubtedly reject: focusing entirely on qualifying, which is often considered the unmissable highlight of the Monaco weekend.

“Do we just accept that there isn`t really a race here? And instead, make it a `qualifying race`,” Russell mused. “You could have one qualifying session on Saturday and another on Sunday. The pole-sitter on Saturday gets some points and a trophy, and the pole-sitter on Sunday gets more points.”

“Because that`s what`s truly exciting here,” he reasoned. “I think that`s what the viewers enjoy watching the most. And let`s be honest, 99% of the other people in Monaco are here sipping Champagne on yachts and don`t really care about the nuances of the race anyway.”