Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle has laid bare the shortcomings of Formula 1’s mandatory two-stop strategy trial at the Monaco Grand Prix, insisting the much-discussed experiment simply “didn’t work”.
The two-stop rule was implemented in a bid to shake up what has become a notoriously processional race in Monte Carlo by encouraging more strategy variation and, ultimately, overtaking.
However, as Brundle pointed out, what followed was a demonstration of just how resourceful — and risk-averse — F1 teams can be when left with loopholes to exploit.
Tactical Ploys and Slow-Pace Drama
“I won't criticise anybody for trying in good faith to improve the show,” Brundle wrote in his post-race Sky column.
“However, I was a little surprised that it wasn't mandated for one of those stops to be taken by, say, half distance, or maybe earlier.”
Brundle pinpointed the rule’s flaw: no deadline for the second stop allowed teams to game the system.
“It was clear from the outset that some teams at the back of the field may as well cycle through their stops relatively early with nothing much to lose, and those at the front of the field would take their second stop late to make the window of opportunity wider regarding safety cars and red flags,” he explained.
Teams like Williams and Racing Bulls exploited this, using one car as a “sacrificial lamb” to crawl along, creating a 21-second gap for their teammate’s pit stop.
“And that's pretty much what happened, although the extent to which particularly Racing Bulls and Williams were prepared to slow one of their cars down was quite alarming,” Brundle noted.
“But you can't blame them - they both got both cars into the world championship points after a very solid qualifying performance.”
Read also: Wurz offers three track fixes to solve Monaco’s overtaking woes
The tactics worked for some – Williams and Racing Bulls bagged points – but the race felt like a slow-motion chess match.
“I realised quite early on in the race that all we were really talking about in commentary, after Lando Norris had survived a first corner scare when locking up his front brakes, was just how slowly some drivers were going and endless pit stop debate,” Brundle said.
“Instead, we saw selected cars four seconds off the pace with a frustrated queue behind them. Not pretty, or impressive, but effective for some. But hardly what F1 stands for.”
A Flawed Experiment and Creative Fixes
Brundle called it as he saw it, and few disagreed: “The two-stop experiment didn't work.”
Monaco’s tight layout, with its single racing line and limited overtaking zones, exacerbated the issue.
“We simply have to manage expectations for race day, do our best to slightly ease overtaking if possible, recognise that Monaco qualifying is one of the most special hours of the F1 or any sporting season, or not race there, which is not an option,” he added.
“The fact is that the track layout dictates this problem, and available space for creating long straights or wide overtaking zones isn't available. And even then, very wide tracks still only contain one racing line which is rubbered in.”
For a dash of whimsy, Brundle shared his son Alex’s cheeky idea.
“My son Alex had an interesting, if tongue in cheek, solution when suggesting each driver has one joker card to play by steaming through the no-man's land at the chicane, as George Russell did, and being able to maintain that new position and get off down the road. This would also dissuade all drivers from simply lapping too slowly.”
Yet, he cautioned, “Be in no doubt though, whatever you change in Formula 1 will have unintended consequences, it’s the nature of the beast.” Monaco’s magic lies in its qualifying, not its race-day plod.
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Slow cars, big flaws: Brundle picks apart Monaco’s rule misstep F1i.com.
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