F1 Q&A: Would Monaco have been better without two-stop rule?

Spanish Grand Prix

Venue: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Dates: 30 May-1 June Race start: 14:00 BST connected Sunday

Coverage: Live commentary of believe and qualifying connected BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 and 3, pinch title connected BBC Radio 5 Live; unrecorded matter updates connected BBC Sport website and app

McLaren's Lando Norris claimed his 2nd triumph of nan play astatine nan Monaco Grand Prix, pinch Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri completing nan apical three.

Red Bull's four-time world champion Max Verstappen vanished fourth.

Last up successful this European triple-header is nan Spanish Grand Prix, from 30 May-1 June.

Before nan title successful Barcelona, BBC Sport F1 analogous Andrew Benson answers your latest questions.

Do you deliberation nan Monaco Grand Prix would person been immoderate amended without nan mandatory two-stop rule? - Sukhpal

The new rule introduced for nan Monaco Grand Prix this twelvemonth was a request to usage 3 sets of tyres successful nan race.

The thought was to summation nan number of strategical options available, efficaciously unit teams to do 2 stops and manufacture other jeopardy.

On that basis, it worked, up to a point.

All weekend, teams were talking astir nan sheer number of strategical possibilities successful nan race. And aft nan race, McLaren squad main Andrea Stella said: "There was a very ample assortment of scenarios. So successful this consciousness I deliberation it was interesting."

Whether this made nan title amended for spectators is simply a different question.

And while nan norm alteration accrued nan nervousness and tested nan brainpower of nan strategy engineers, it made nary quality to nan consequence - nan only changes successful nan bid of nan apical 10 were Lewis Hamilton making up his grid punishment and Fernando Alonso retiring.

There is an statement that, successful immoderate ways, nan norm made nan title worse, because it accrued nan anticipation for teams to 'game' nan consequence by utilizing their drivers strategically.

Racing Bulls started this, by utilizing Liam Lawson to backmost up nan battalion to guarantee Isack Hadjar could pit without losing position, earlier Hadjar returned nan favour.

Because they had, Williams past did nan aforesaid - and past Mercedes.

Some drivers were not comfortable astir this.

Williams' Alex Albon said: "I cognize we put connected a bad show for everyone, and I cognize we made a fewer angry drivers down america successful nan process arsenic well.

"The two-stop conscionable made america do it twice, alternatively than once. Just frustrating. Apologies to everyone who watched that. That wasn't very pretty."

Their squad leader James Vowles moreover apologised to Mercedes' Toto Wolff mid-race. Wolff said: "Yeah, I [was] sent a matter successful nan race. He said: 'I'm sorry. We had nary prime fixed what happened ahead'.

"I answered: 'We know'.

"He had 2 cars successful nan points, and I deliberation that erstwhile it started was erstwhile nan RBs backed america up. So that is what he had to do."

And past location was nan truth that it besides made it easier for F1's arguable red-flag tyre-change norm to beryllium exploited, much of which successful nan adjacent answer.

The rumor astatine nan bottommost of each this is nan impossibility of overtaking astatine Monaco, a problem that has existed for astir 50 years, arsenic Lando Norris pointed out, and is not solely caused by nan size of nan existent cars, though that has made it moreover worse.

So, it has to beryllium asked - is it correct to present specified artificial gimmicks to effort to hole a problem that is unfixable without way changes? And is Monaco broken, anyway?

As Max Verstappen put it: "Of people I get it, but I don't deliberation it has worked. You can't title present anyway, truthful it doesn't matter what you do. One stop, 10 stops.

"We were almost doing Mario Kart. Then we person to instal bits connected nan car. Maybe you tin propulsion bananas around. I don't know. Slippery surface."

As galore drivers were hoping for a red-flag arena to supply nan opportunity for a 'free' extremity to alteration tyres, surely it is clip to prohibition tyre changes (except bedewed to barren aliases barren to wet) nether red-flag conditions? - Paul

The norm that Red Bull tried to utilization successful nan Monaco Grand Prix has been astir for years, and remains controversial.

Red Bull's scheme was to time off Verstappen retired arsenic agelong arsenic possible, a move which gave him nan lead arsenic nan McLaren drivers and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc had to pit arsenic portion of their ain strategical conflict not to suffer position to each other.

That near nan doorway unfastened to Red Bull to return a risk.

Red Bull knew that if they delayed Verstappen's stop. and location was a reddish emblem earlier nan extremity of nan race, he would get a free tyre alteration and triumph nan race, arsenic agelong arsenic he didn't suffer nan lead disconnected nan statement astatine nan restart.

Race-winner Lando Norris addressed this successful alternatively sardonic style aft nan race. "What tin I do? Nothing," he said. "It's retired of my control. No existent constituent reasoning astir it. If it happened, it happened. He wins Monaco, good done."

This is not nan first clip this has happened astatine Monaco.

In 2011, for example, nan title was building to an breathtaking climax, pinch Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel trying to make a very aged group of tyres scope nan end, and being chased down by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso connected fresher tyres - and McLaren's Jenson Button connected moreover fresher ones.

But past location was a clang and a reddish flag, and each nan jeopardy went retired of nan window.

There were calls past for nan norm to beryllium changed. But it's successful spot connected information grounds - connected nan ground that it mightiness beryllium vulnerable to time off cars connected aged tyres aft a large clang because nan tyres could beryllium damaged and astatine consequence of puncture.

At nan moment, location seems nary momentum to alteration it.

Were nan squad strategies utilized by Racing Bulls and Williams astatine Monaco - of 1 car slowing down to build a spread to let your team-mate to pit and clasp position - because of nan two-stop rule, aliases conscionable because Monaco is truthful difficult to overtake? Even if nan two-stop proceedings is not continued, mightiness we spot this maneuver proceed successful early years? - Chris

This maneuver - explored successful much item supra - has been utilized a number of times successful nan past, and immoderate of those person been astatine Monaco.

The trouble of overtaking astatine Monaco makes its usage a slam dunk, because location is virtually nary chance of nan driver doing it being passed.

And nan two-stop norm simply meant teams could utilization it much efficaciously pinch 2 cars, because each had 2 stops to play pinch - not conscionable one.

If nan norm is not changed, it's difficult to ideate that teams would extremity utilizing it. Why would they? It banks points.

What has happened to Mercedes' gait successful nan past fewer races? They started nan play beardown but look to person fallen backmost - Kathryn

After a comparatively promising commencement to nan season, pinch 4 podiums successful nan first six races for George Russell, and a sprint rod for Kimi Antonelli successful Miami, Mercedes person had 2 difficult races successful Imola and Monaco.

Russell qualified good successful Imola successful third, but fell backmost pinch excessive tyre degradation aft Mercedes sewage their set-up wrong.

Wolff said successful Monaco astir Imola: "We sewage our car successful a wholly incorrect place. It's ever achy to find retired successful a post-mortem what you did wrong. But I conjecture we cognize that we conscionable really screwed that up, and gave nan drivers a car that was very difficult.

"We overheated nan tyres, massively, and that's why we underperformed."

Monaco was bad luck arsenic overmuch arsenic anything. Antonelli collapsed successful qualifying. Russell struggled successful believe but, aft making changes to nan car for qualifying, he said it came alive.

He looked speedy and apt to situation for nan beforehand 2 rows of nan grid until nan electrical problem that caused his motor to trim retired aft going complete a bump successful nan 2nd portion of qualifying.

Wolff said: "We've seen, not only pinch us, but besides pinch Red Bull, Ferrari, you abruptly suffer a small spot of your measurement and you travel into immoderate benignant of authorities wherever you're not judge anymore whether an upgrade useful aliases whether it's nan ambient conditions that person you over.

"It was ever nan basking races which were our Achilles' bottommost past year. And nan acold ones, we dominated. So we will assess. Let's spot really Barcelona goes and nan pursuing races.

"Definitely, it's little of a capacity than we had pre-Miami."

Why perchance driblet Imola from nan 2026 calendar? It's acold much absorbing than astir of nan different alleged thoroughfare circuits that look for illustration machine games - Wilfrid

The elemental reply is that F1 leader Stefano Domenicali feels 24 races is simply a maximum beyond which it would beryllium unwise to go, and location is unit for caller races to travel connected to nan calendar.

Thailand is pushing for a title successful Bangkok and F1 is keen to person 1 successful Africa, though uncovering a location location is proving problematic.

In that scenario, it's difficult to warrant having 2 races successful 1 European country, moreover if it is Italy.

Monza is beautiful overmuch sacrosanct arsenic nan venue for nan Italian Grand Prix, and Imola returned only because of nan circumstances of nan pandemic successful 2020 - and past remained, partially to put unit connected Monza to modernise.

Now it's Imola that needs to modernise. Its accommodation and infrastructure are very antiquated successful modern F1 terms, and to bring them up to day would return a batch of money nan circuit doesn't have.

Add each that together and it's not difficult to spot why it is considered apt to driblet disconnected nan calendar.