27/05/2025 18:55
The Monaco Grand Prix is, and will always be, the most prestigious race on the F1 calendar - so long as it remains. It is the jewel in F1's crown and the one every driver wants to win. We saw it in the heartbreak endured by Daniel Ricciardo in 2016 and his subsequent redemption two years later. We saw it on Sunday, when Lando Norris, in victory, proclaimed: "This is what I dreamt of when I was a kid, so I've achieved one of my dreams." We saw it in Charles Leclerc's palpable pain, year after year. So too in his jubilation and relief, 12 months ago. However, the very fact I felt the need to include the phrase so long as it remains at the end of the opening line of this column underlines the issue, jeopardy and division confronting the famed race. Calls for it to be axed from the calendar are longstanding and only growing louder. It is a polarising subject, although it is becoming increasingly difficult for its advocates to deny it is in dire need of reinvigoration. Whilst the 2024 edition, Leclerc's exaltation aside, was ultimately the catalyst, the voices of dissent and their underlying cause were the impetus for change. Officially, the Monaco Grand Prix will remain until at least 2031, but as far as F1 was concerned, the streets of Monte Carlo needed new life breathed into them, and that is still the case today. Previous editions of The Scoop Mission incomplete Not only did the two-stop mandate not work, the experiment actively failed in its aim. It was a mess and, most critically, was powerless to prevent the stagnation it sought to vanquish. Lewis Hamilton undercutting Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso's retirement aside, there was no sustained mobility within the top 10. There was plenty beneath that, but it never threatened those who would go on to score points. Plus, pinning arguments of the contrary on that would be both hollow and wide of the mark. 19 laps into the 78-lap race, just before Hadjar came in for his second and final pit stop, Martin Brundle - as part of the Sky Sports F1 commentary - said: "I can't make my mind up at the moment whether this is fascinating or just too chaotic, to be honest - the pit stops are dominating the race, but I don't think we can make that decision until the end, frankly, when we see how it all plays out." By before the end of lap 27, he was starting to change his tune. "Yeah, I'm not liking it," he stated, to which David Croft replied: "The team game?" "No, these regulations," Brundle responded. "I'm not liking it." He called it early, and he called it right. What happened is not in a vacuum - nor is it isolated to the Circuit de Monaco, as shown by Kevin Magnussen and Haas. The cork was already out the bottle on this. Moot point Now, Croft's question, although somewhat of a sidebar, does allow me to highlight an important observation. By that point in the grand prix, the strategy Racing Bulls employed had become evident. It was a move that forced Williams behind to adopt similar tactics, and that particularly egregious brand of team orders has been a major talking point in the aftermath of the race. James Vowles insisted it isn't how the Grove-based team "likes to go racing" and he even sent Toto Wolff a text mid-race to apologise for it. Carlos Sainz lamented "manipulating" the result, even if Williams was also a "victim" of the situation. Alex Albon said "sorry" directly to TV cameras. But the Thai driver also spoke to how the two-stop regulation did not materially alter the complexion of the strategies used - or provoke the use of the dark arts , as they would be referred to in football parlance. "The two stop [rules] just made us do it twice, rather than once," he explained. And he's right, as he was during media day at Monaco, when he emphasised the use of such tactics in Saudi Arabia last season. Further still, Alonso drove deliberately slowly in Monte Carlo a year ago to afford Lance Stroll time for his pit stop. Therefore, what happened is not in a vacuum - nor is it isolated to the Circuit de Monaco, as shown by Kevin Magnussen and Haas. The cork was already out the bottle on this. But I digress... Because the glass half full in me instinctively wonders how much worse the more pertinent matter at hand can get? But that is perhaps not a wise line of thought to pursue, all things considered. The magic of Monaco In many ways, the Principality of Monaco is synonymous with Formula 1. Two years before F1's current contract ends, the Monaco Grand Prix will celebrate its 100th anniversary. It is a legacy Wolff touched upon post race. In doing so, the Mercedes boss also underscored a longstanding truth of Monaco: that the entire ball game is qualifying. That, in itself, is considered by many to actually be part of the magic. I don't completely buy into that vision, but the current reality has not recently developed as cars have got bigger, heavier and faster - even though, independently, that badly needs to change. Its woven into the fabric of the race and statistics illustrate this. Since 1985, only Olivier Panis - from P14 in 1996 - has won the Monaco Grand Prix from lower than third on the grid. "We're motorsport people, and so the perspective I look at it is that most of the relevant sporting event is on Saturday, and it's always been," said Wolff on Sunday. So, whilst the current cars do not help the situation, it is somewhat disingenuous to suggest it is only the cars that need altering. Plus, the regulations are being overhauled this winter anyway. The 53-year-old went on to add: "But what Formula 1 has created here is unbelievable: grandstands full, terraces full, boats like I've never seen before. "Yesterday, I filmed from my terrace a traffic jam of one-and-a-half kilometres, [at] 02:30 in the morning. And you know, that is the kind of 360-degree angle that Formula 1 needs to have." Spoken like someone who owns a significant financial stake in an F1 team, but the Austrian's point is well-meaning and well-made. However, none of that helps the show on television, where the vast majority of F1's audience resides, on Sundays - especially on the 'exclusive' weekends, like in Miami, Las Vegas and, indeed, Monaco. And just because qualifying in the principality is the best Saturday of the F1 season, it does not mean the championship was wrong to experiment. Nor does the initial failure of the two-stop mandate mean it shouldn't try experimenting again. What are the options? One race is far too small a sample size to get a true reading of the situation, as circumstance plays such a pivotal role. But the first attempt simply did not work. Nonetheless, as poor as the outcome was, it was a commendable effort and there are avenues F1 can still explore to remedy the problem. As has been established, the early red flag in the 2024 running of the race precipitated what we saw this year. The best solution remains fixing the rule that allows teams a free pit stop during those stoppages, where almost every driver is switched onto another tyre compound, as required by the regulations. However, that rule is grounded in the necessity for safety, so is unlikely to change. It could be altered, for example, to send cars that have changed tyres to the back of the pack, but there is neither particular noise around the issue at the moment or the sufficient groundswell of support those who endorse changing that rule would need. Some drivers, like Max Verstappen and George Russell, who flippantly suggested each driver be equipped with a sprinkler button, evidently did not care much for the attempt to enliven the spectacle, but other options do remain. Altering the track has potential, but as Wolff highlighted, circuit changes are "limited by a mountain and the sea." Although, his compatriot - and Grand Prix Drivers' Association chairperson - Alex Wurz came up with three amendments he believes could encourage overtaking. Then there is Wolff's other alternative: introducing a maximum lap time delta for drivers to abide by. Or, if sticking with the two-stop mandate, enforcing specific pit stop windows, as suggested by Brundle. The latter's son, Alex Brundle, mused about adding a joker lap, where a driver can cut the Nouvelle Chicane a la Russell. Inversely, a long-lap could also be pursued, by creating a new section of the track. Point being, there is still potential for F1 to further tweak and further experiment, and it should.
