F1 abandons mandatory Monaco GP two-stop after 2025 controversy

Formula 1 has abandoned plans to repeat its one-off Monaco Grand Prix pitstop rule in the wake of last year’s controversy.

With overtaking pretty much impossible in the streets of Monte Carlo, the FIA implemented the mandatory use of three tyre sets last year to force teams onto a two-stop strategy and hopefully unlock more strategic options and jeopardy.

But the idea didn’t have the intended effect at the front of the field, as teams who ran two cars closely together like Racing Bulls and Williams were able to exploit the rule with one car backing the field up to create a pitstop window for the car in front.

And while the tactics did succeed in creating more talking points around the historic race, they also produced unease over drivers being compelled to run over four seconds per lap slower for their team to gain an advantage.

However, the rule tweak was initially kept in the 2026 sporting regulations after an e-vote by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

Williams’ James Vowles, team boss of one of the squads involved, said he was surprised to find the one-off rule tweak was back on the cards for 2026, saying the tactic left him “the most uncomfortable I’ve felt. I like going out there and fighting for points on merit rather than having to game the system in order to achieve it.”

FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis told Motorsport.com last year the tweak wasn’t set in stone yet, however, and following further discussions the plan has now been abandoned altogether. The latest version of the 2026 sporting regulations, that was ratified by the WMSC, the one-off clauses relating to Monaco’s tyre usage have all been deleted from section B.

Extra minute added to Q3

As part of the latest raft of refinements, the FIA WMSC also voted through a change to add an additional minute to Q3, with the final shootout between the 10 remaining cars now lasting 13 instead of 12 minutes.

As part of Cadillac’s arrival as F1’s 11th team, Q1 and Q2 will now see six cars being eliminated instead of five. However, that stipulation has always been part of the regulations in the case of there being 22 cars on the entry list, so this did not require any regulatory changes per se.

Cooling vests remain optional

The FIA has also walked back plans to make it mandatory for drivers to wear cooling vests in the event of a heat hazard, measures which were developed following a problematic 2023 Qatar Grand Prix during which many drivers suffered from heat exhaustion symptoms.

Last year, the FIA first issued teams with a ‘Heat Hazard’ warning ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, triggered when temperatures are forecast to hit 31C during the race weekend. That measure means all cars must carry the additional components required to operate cooling vests.

Drivers could choose not the wear the bulky vest itself, having to carry additional ballast if they opted out, but the FIA planned to make wearing the equipment mandatory for 2026. That was not a popular change, as driver opinions remained split over the effectiveness and comfort of the vests, and the FIA has now decided to keep the vests optional instead.

The rules now say: “However, any driver may elect not to wear any items of personal equipment that form part of the Driver Cooling System. In such circumstances, all other components, including any cooling medium, of the Driver Cooling System must be fitted.

“In addition, the difference in mass between the driver’s personal equipment normally used and any items of a driver’s personal equipment that form part of the system must be compensated by the fitting of 0.5kg of ballast in the cockpit, such ballast designated for this purpose will be included in sum of masses described in Article C4.6b.”

The ballast increase associated with cooling equipment remains at 5kg for races and sprints, but has been reduced to just 2kg for any qualifying sessions.

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– The Autosport.com Team