Do you suppose the Monaco Grand Prix would have been any higher with out the obligatory two-stop rule? – Sukhpal
The brand new rule launched for the Monaco Grand Prix this 12 months was a requirement to make use of three units of tyres within the race.
The concept was to extend the variety of strategic choices out there, successfully power groups to do two stops and manufacture further jeopardy.
On that foundation, it labored, up to some extent.
All weekend, groups had been speaking concerning the sheer variety of strategic potentialities within the race. And after the race, McLaren crew principal Andrea Stella mentioned: “There was a really giant number of situations. So on this sense I feel it was attention-grabbing.”
Whether or not this made the race higher for spectators is a distinct query.
And whereas the rule change elevated the nervousness and examined the brainpower of the technique engineers, it made no distinction to the consequence – the one adjustments within the order of the highest 10 had been Lewis Hamilton making up his grid penalty and Fernando Alonso retiring.
There’s an argument that, in some methods, the rule made the race worse, as a result of it elevated the likelihood for groups to ‘sport’ the consequence by utilizing their drivers strategically.
Racing Bulls began this, by utilizing Liam Lawson to again up the pack to make sure Isack Hadjar might pit with out dropping place, earlier than Hadjar returned the favour.
As a result of they’d, Williams then did the identical – after which Mercedes.
Some drivers weren’t comfy about this.
Williams’ Alex Albon mentioned: “I do know we placed on a foul present for everybody, and I do know we made just a few offended drivers behind us within the course of as properly.
“The 2-stop simply made us do it twice, quite than as soon as. Simply irritating. Apologies to everybody who watched that. That wasn’t very fairly.”
Their crew boss James Vowles even apologised to Mercedes’ Toto Wolff mid-race. Wolff mentioned: “Yeah, I [was] despatched a textual content within the race. He mentioned: ‘I am sorry. We had no selection given what occurred forward’.
“I answered: ‘We all know’.
“He had two vehicles within the factors, and I feel that when it began was when the RBs backed us up. So that’s what he needed to do.”
After which there was the truth that it additionally made it simpler for F1’s controversial red-flag tyre-change rule to be exploited, extra of which within the subsequent reply.
The problem on the backside of all that is the impossibility of overtaking at Monaco, an issue that has existed for about 50 years, as Lando Norris identified, and isn’t solely attributable to the dimensions of the present vehicles, though that has made it even worse.
So, it must be requested – is it proper to introduce such synthetic gimmicks to attempt to repair an issue that’s unfixable with out monitor adjustments? And is Monaco damaged, anyway?
As Max Verstappen put it: “In fact I get it, however I do not suppose it has labored. You’ll be able to’t race right here anyway, so it would not matter what you do. One cease, 10 stops.
“We had been virtually doing Mario Kart. Then we now have to put in bits on the automotive. Perhaps you possibly can throw bananas round. I do not know. Slippery floor.”
