Drivers brace for Monaco Grand Prix’s new rules – and a bold, ‘chaotic’ race

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MONACO — In previous years, Lando Norris would have known that, by scoring pole for Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix, he’d done most of the job required to win the famous race.

The difficulty in overtaking around the tight confines of the street circuit with this generation of large F1 cars means the driver at the front could typically control the race with a slow pace. Five of the last six races in Monaco have been won by the driver at the head of the field for lights out.

But Norris smirked when asked to put a percentage on how much of the job he felt was already done after qualifying for the 2025 event in the principality on Saturday.

“I have no idea… four?” he said, picking a random number. “It’s impossible to put a number on it. More so, probably than in the past, going into a new rule race.”

That new rule is the introduction of two mandatory pit stops for just the Monaco round, which was confirmed earlier this year in response to a run of boring races in recent years, especially the lifeless 2024 race after an early red flag stoppage. The step aims to improve the on-track spectacle and make for a better event overall, both for the competing drivers and the watching fans.

All weekend long, the drivers and their teams have been unsure just how it will shake things up. They only know for sure that it will pose an extra mental challenge for them all. It will also create more strategy variables — and, for the driver on pole, more chances to lose the race than in years gone by.

“It’s great for you guys, not so good for me,” Norris told reporters in the post-qualifying Monaco news conference. “Let’s wait and see.”

Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari driver who qualified second after sweeping all three practice sessions in the run-up to qualifying on Saturday, benefited from starting on pole last year and slowing the field down in the procession that followed the lap one red flag. The stoppage meant the field could make a free pit stop and complete 76 subsequent laps on a single set of tires, with Leclerc slowing the field from the front, leaving his rivals unable to overtake.

This year, the expectation is for a faster race as drivers push to try and create a gap into which they can pit. But Leclerc – the home hero in Monaco — did not think those running at the front of the field would be able to take unusual strategy routes due to the format changes. Instead, he sees the surprises rising from those starting from further back.

Sergio Perez’s crash with the Haas drivers in the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix that led to a dull race and new rules for this year (Getty Images)

“I think there’s going to be a bit of chaos,” Leclerc said. “But we’ll see how it plays out. There will be a lot of strategy games, and we’ll see who comes out on top. But I think we might be under pressure from cars we probably don’t expect from the back, which might make everything interesting. We’ll see.”

One team that would hope to benefit from the added strategy variety is Mercedes, which endured a miserable qualifying. Kimi Antonelli hit the barrier in Q1 and broke his front suspension, leaving him 15th on the grid for Sunday’s race. George Russell suffered an electrical problem after hitting a bump on the track in Q2, meaning he qualified only one place ahead in 14th. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff called it an “abysmal” day in an interview with Sky Sports F1.

“We had a real chance this weekend, now it’s up in smoke,” said Russell, who has been a podium regular this season. “Weekend over, it’s pretty deflating.”

The promise of having to do two stops did little to improve Russell’s outlook. “For sure, there’s going to be some crazy strategies,” he said. But he noted the track position advantage for the cars ahead meant they’d still have the upper hand when rolling the dice.

“There’s 10 cars between me and where I should have been,” Russell said. “If people are doing crazy things with the strategy, half of those guys will go one way, half will go the other way. Therefore, whichever one we decide, we’re stuck behind five drivers.”

Russell thought there were two ways teams could try a risky strategy: fit soft tires for the start and pit during the opening laps, or start on hards and go deep into the race before making a first stop.

“If they start on the C6 (soft), you know they’re going for a very early one,” Russell said. “If everybody starts on the hard tire, you know they’re intending to go longer. As soon as we see what they’re on, we’ll make that choice.”

Championship leader Oscar Piastri will start third, two places behind McLaren teammate Norris. Piastri agreed with Leclerc’s assessment that it could be “a pretty chaotic race” thanks to the extra required stop. “The overtaking is still not going to be very high, I don’t think,” he said. “There will be a lot more uncertainty with strategy.”

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella told reporters after qualifying there was a “material” risk that a team further back with nothing to lose could indeed gamble with an off-piste strategy. McLaren fears it could pay off.

“The implications of the compulsory two stops, they are much wider than we thought initially,” Stella conceded. “Depending on you being at the front or the back of the field, you can make significantly different choices. And then, as a function of red flags or safety cars or teamwork, this may lead to very different scenarios.

“I think the strategy meeting that is happening during this media session will be longer than usual. Because the scenarios to consider are definitely many more than you normally consider, not only in Monaco, but any other race that we need to prepare (for).”

Norris talked up the significance of claiming pole in Monaco. To convert that into his first win since the season-opening race in Australia would be significant to cut into Piastri’s current 13-point championship lead and further boost his at times flagging confidence. Winning in Monaco against increased threats from behind would make it all the more significant – and challenging.

“Of course, in my position now, I probably don’t agree with what’s been done,” Norris joked. “But I’m not the one who makes the rules.”

(Top image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

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