Monaco Grand Prix Mandatory 2 Pit Stops

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As you can see the Monaco circuit is not exactly stressful on the tyres and tyre degradation losing performance is never going to happen.

Formula One are trying to inject some excitement into what is normally a boring, dull Monaco Grand Prix. This year teams have to stop twice and use 2 different variants of the tyres on offer. Personally I would be happier to see this for every race and not just the Monaco Grand Prix and maybe using all 3 tyre compounds.

If there is rain there will be two types of wet racing tyres that have to be used. The latest weather reports predict rain on Saturday afternoon which will upset qualifying with the race day unfortunately no rain is expected. I say unfortunate as crashes is what changes races and levels the playing field giving even the slowest cars a sniff of a chance to upset the odds.

If one can recall the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix the race was red flagged on the first lap due to a crash. When this happens all teams are forced to pit until the track is clear and the green flag is waved. last year the teams changed their tyres on the first lap and never had to pit again as the street circuit is not a high speed event and is not demanding enough on the tyres so one set would see you from the start to the finish. Other race tracks this would not be the case and you would need at least two full brand new sets.

The organizers of the race are just trying to make sure there is no repeat of last year where the top 10 cars did not change position at all. As a race this is not and is a complete farce considering F1 is about speed and skills.

Adding an extra pit stop will maybe make for a little excitement as racing strategy comes into play. On most tracks if you pit before the front car ahead the chances are you can undercut them by doing a fast lap before they change their tyres and this is called an undercut. Some tracks are faster than others so there is a possibility of picking up a good 2 or 3 seconds moving your car up one place by using the pit stop strategically as an over taking maneuver. This is of course reliant on your pit crew being at the top of their game and not losing valuable seconds in the process.

Monaco is slightly different and quite the opposite of the above where the over cut comes into play due to how slow the track is and more importantly cars are spread out all over the course. Finding a window to pit and come out in clear traffic with no cars around is important and why pitting after the car in front can be beneficial.

Timing the pit stops is going to be crucial and using the safety car if there is one deployed to pit at the perfect time is all about luck and where you are on the track at that particular moment. The cars who are not close to the pit are driving under a yellow safety flag and the time saved by pitting at the perfect time is roughly half the time lost under the green racing flag.

Whoever wins the pole position during qualifying on Saturday will automatically be favorite for the race win so this is the key to winning this particular event. The 2 stop pit rule could help create some havoc which is encouraging to try and make a boring event into a more unpredictable event.

Posted Using INLEO