Are there any loopholes in Monaco's two-stop rule?

The Monaco Grand Prix will have a special flavour in 2025. In order to boost the spectacle and rekindle the suspense in the streets of the Principality, a special rule has been adopted for the Monegasque round: from now on, drivers will have to make two mandatory stops during the race (compared to just one for all other Grands Prix). This specific rule, first proposed by the Monaco Grand Prix Commission, F1 mid-February, was voted on and adopted at the FIA ​​World Motor Sport Council on February 26.

Two stops in the first two laps in Monaco?

If this new rule has been rather well received by the pilots, who nevertheless remain cautious about its real effectiveness, the requirement to make two pit stops during the Monaco Grand Prix raises some concerns. While some believe that it will have no impact on the spectacle, since overtaking will take place in the pits and not on the track, others have already identified potential loopholes with this rule. Strategists, who are primarily concerned by this new standard, have some concerns about this. Bernie Collins, former strategist at McLaren et Aston Martin now a consultant for Sky Sports F1, has outlined how teams can exploit this rule to their advantage with a surprising strategy.

“Often a two-stop strategy is actually the quickest strategy to do Monaco, explained the British strategist during the winter tests in Bahrain. Often a two-stop strategy, if you're racing alone, is the fastest choice. But because of traffic, that's not the case. My first thought when I read that was that if I started last in the Monaco Grand Prix, I'd be pitting on the first lap and then on the second lap and I wouldn't have any more pit stops to make. I could get closer to the back of the pack and hopefully get ahead of the others when they make their two stops later."

Qatar as an example

To solve this potential problem, Bernie Collins may have a solution: impose a minimum number of laps per stint, in order to force the teams to make the best use of the tires and avoid traffic jams in the pits from the first laps of the race, even if this would limit the strategic options... which would go against the objective sought by the FIA ​​and the teams with this new rule.

“Unless there is a mandatory stint length like in Qatar two years ago, which didn’t work either because it really limited the strategy, then what’s to stop someone who is not in a good position doing their two stops during a safety car, asks the Sky Sports consultant. Maybe there is something in the regulation that prevents this very specific case. But we are trying to solve a very specific problem that we encountered last year. This is not always the case in Monaco. It remains to be seen how the teams will approach this new rule and whether any of them will dare to take advantage of a loophole. See you on May 25!

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