Sunday’s Monaco GP promised a shake-up with F1’s one-off mandatory two-stop rule designed to spice up the famously processional race, but it left a bitter taste for Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.
After the regulation mandated teams to make two tyre changes during the race, a rare departure from Monaco’s traditional one-stop norm, the idea was that increased strategy variation would create opportunities for overtakes and shake up the order. But that theory quickly unravelled.
The experiment not only failed to deliver the desired drama, Sainz and Albon described the ploy as an unenjoyable “manipulation” tool that produced “a terrible day for racing”.
Frustration in the Midfield
Williams found themselves using unconventional race tactics that included backing up rival drivers, particularly the chasing Mercedes cars, to protect track position after early stops.
While the tactics worked – Albon finished ninth and Sainz tenth – it left both drivers disillusioned.
"A terrible day for racing, in general,” Sainz sighed over team radio at the chequered flag, reflecting the mood inside the Williams garage.
“It is definitely something I don’t like to do,” he added after the race. “Liam Lawson did it first, to us. It put us into panic mode. The only way to get both cars into the points was to do it to the rest of the field ourselves.
“I am disappointed with the whole race, the lap times all weekend. It shows the two-stop change is nothing around Monaco. People are still going to do what we did, manipulate the final result with their driving."
Sainz was especially critical of how the change played out in the midfield.
“In the midfield, it backfired. It made things even more manipulated. I am happy for F1 to try things. I am a massive fan of trying things. We tried it, it didn’t work, at least not in the midfield,” he said.
“It’s not the way I like to race, not the way I dream of racing around Monaco. When I was a kid, I didn’t see this manipulation. But it’s becoming a trend over the past five years.”
Albon: “We Put on a Bad Show”
Teammate Alex Albon, who also benefited from the controversial strategy, was equally apologetic after the chequered flag.
“Not how we want to go racing. We put on a bad show for everyone, and made a few drivers angry behind us,” he admitted.
“It’s taking advantage of the track, and the size of the cars. The two-stop made us do it twice rather than once. Apologies to everyone who watched that."
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Verstappen: 'One stop, 10 stops, you can't race here'The Thai-British driver clarified that the strategy wasn’t something the team relished.
“Being honest, we didn’t want to do it, or plan to do it. When we knew on Thursday it was a thing, and the Racing Bulls started it… if they didn’t start it, we wouldn’t have done it. Sorry.
“I was getting ready to bring my pillow out,” he quipped.
Even Williams Team Principal James Vowles was blunt in his post-race reflections, conceding:
“This wasn’t particularly enjoyable for any of us today.”
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