Is F1’s two-stop rule the right solution for ‘boring’ Monaco races?

The Monaco Grand Prix has been an anachronism for decades. Overtaking at the track has long been borderline impossible, and it somehow became even harder when Formula 1 made its cars 200mm wider eight years ago.

But the clamour for F1 to do something about the processional nature of racing in Monaco grew louder after the extreme circumstances of last year’s race.

A first-lap shunt led to a red flag, during which almost every driver completed their mandatory tyre change. Charles Leclerc was therefore able to nurse his tyres all the way home, at times several seconds off the pace, with no realistic prospect of anyone behind being able to attack him.

“We must not let that happen again,” F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali declared afterwards. “We must anticipate such scenarios better and cover them with the rules,” he said, adding F1’s rules “are generally too complicated.”

This week the FIA revealed its fix for the problem. In a highly unusual move, it is enforcing a special rule for the Monaco Grand Prix alone. While one mandatory tyre change is enforced everywhere else, in Monaco drivers will have to change tyres twice, though they will still only have to use two different compounds. In a further change, in Monaco the requirement to change tyres twice will still apply even if they use intermediate or wet-weather tyres.

Has the FIA hit on the right solution to improve racing in Monaco? Do more pit stops equal better races? And should F1 resort to special rules for some races? Give your verdict below.

For

Forcing two pit stops is the most realistic way to improve the racing. It’s easy to call for changes to the circuit, but it is not practical with the limited space available in Monaco.

There is no harm in having special rules for some races, and Monaco already does. Its race is run to 260 kilometres instead of the usual 305.

Requiring drivers to make two pit stops will ensure they have one more chance than usual to make up positions.

Against

This is a knee-jerk over-reaction to last year’s unusual race. A better fix was possible: F1 could have simply decreed that tyre changes made during stoppages do not count as the mandatory switch.

Adding special rules for some races creates needless complexity – yet more rules to explain and understand.

But most importantly, a second mandatory pit stop won’t create real racing on-track, only in the pit lane.

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I say

The point of a race is to get to the finish as quickly as possible. So I don’t agree F1 should have a mandatory tyre change rule to begin with – it’s arbitrary and unnecessary.

If one mandatory pit stop is bad, two is worse. The fact it’s being imposed for one race only underlines what a contrivance this is and, by extension, F1 is turning itself into.

Whether it will ‘work’ or not is beside the point, but it seems more likely to incentivise teams to try bizarre strategies in the hope of getting lucky, or using one car to hold up the chasing pack to benefit the other.

As Formula E’s regularly excellent races in Monaco show, it is not the venue’s fault that F1 has consistently chosen to change its rules in such a way as it make racing there impossible. F1 should either change its rules (and next year’s appear to be a small step in the right direction in this regard) or accept that this is one race where the grand prix matters less than the spectacle of qualifying, which is always a sight to savour in Monaco.

You say

Has the FIA found the best way to improve Formula 1 races in Monaco by forcing drivers to change tyres twice? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.

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