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Big changes in regulations for the Monaco Grand Prix are next to be made to have quarrelsome race events. After further mandatory pitstops, the officials of the F1 will be tempted to introduce further changes to avert overtaking and processional racing, which have become synonyms of the event's history. This proposal comes against the backdrop of the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix, where the top 10 men began and finished the same; only a red flag on the very first lap snuffed out any tactical suspense.
Recently, the F1 Commission came together at the Formula One Management offices in London for deliberation regarding the issues at hand. FIA confirmed via statement that the commission has endorsed the increase of mandatory pitstops at the Monaco Grand Prix. There after, the proposals will be reviewed in the weeks that follow by the Sporting Advisory Committee.
What Drivers Say About the Proposed Changes
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll pondered whether some extra pit stops could actually improve the race in Monaco: "It all depends on where you start! If you start somewhere in the middle, you'll need a lot. If you start second or third, maybe you need one stop. If you're last, maybe 10 or 12! I've won twice, and it was fine with that number of stops," laughed Alonso, the two-time Monaco winner.
The changes would definitely spice up the Sunday race, according to the 2024 winner of the home race where Charles Leclerc rated the changes. "I think it will definitely help on the Sunday, especially with strategy. The excitement on Sunday is maybe a bit less than what you would hope," Leclerc told Sky Sports News. "The Saturday is incredible, but the Sunday maybe needs a little bit of spice, and hopefully, this will give it."
Why the Change?
Narrow streets have always made overtaking difficult, with this now becoming a different subject altogether in the current era, courtesy of the giant size of present-day F1 cars. At the very beginning of the year 2010, that was when F1 beforehand mandated that at least one pit stop be made in the dry for the sake of countering the monotony associated with a full possibility of having an incidentless race in Monaco.
Aside from the fact that a red flag was put between the two dueling elements of the 2024 race, it had basically proven to be an unremarkable one until then when the two-wheeler crash happened between Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen. They, along with Nico Hulkenberg, required a restart. That enabled immediate tire fittings without time penalty, which diminished variability further under strategy.
Other Important Decisions Taken by the F1 Commission
Apart from this particular amendment of regulations with regard to Monaco, the F1 Commission also ratified new assurance tests on deflections for the front and rear wings in a bid to lessen the controversy on whether teams adopt flexible wings for aerodynamic purposes. Testing for front-wing will henceforth be compulsory starting the first week of June during the Spanish Grand Prix and rear-wing testing will commence from the very first Australian Grand Prix in the season.
In addition, the commission has scrapped the limit on the number of gearboxes that could be used by one team in a season and has remedied some aspects of the starting procedure, following some confusion reigning at the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix after the display of an "aborted start" message for both Lando Norris and George Russell as they rolled off the grid.
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