Monaco GP two-pitstop rule “manipulated” the race

Carlos Sainz has criticised the mandatory two-pitstop rule that was implemented for the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, as he felt it was too easy for drivers manipulate it by slowing down to create a buffer for their team-mates to pit.

Both Williams drivers worked together to hold up the midfield which meant they could pit and not lose positions, resulting in both Sainz and Alex Albon scoring points in Monaco.

“Ultimately, you’re driving two or three seconds off the pace that the car can do. You are ultimately manipulating the race, and manipulating the outcome a bit,” Sainz said after the race.

“Around Monaco, it’s too easy to do. Other tracks, with DRS and straights, you cannot do it. But today was very easy to do, for everyone.”

He and his Williams team-mate Alex Albon rounded out the points after backing up the Mercedes’ of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Frustrated with their blocking, Russell overtook Albon off-track, cutting the chicane and telling his race engineer he’d rather take a penalty than return the position.

“I completely understand why he did it, because I nearly did it,” Sainz said Russell, who received a drive-through penalty for deliberately cutting the chicane.

“In the past, there were huge penalties for manipulating a race. Ultimately, we are not crashing, but we are driving so slow that we are manipulating a race.”

Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar also worked together, with the Kiwi creating a buffer for his team-mate.

The Frenchman only lost two positions when he stopped for soft tyres and ultimately ended the race in sixth place. It was a double-points finish for the team, with Lawson finishing eighth.