Why mandatory 2 pit stops will fail F1 – Why mandatory 2 pit stops will fail F1The FIA are being pressed to consider a proposal which will mandate each driver makes two pit stops during a Formula One Grand Prix as the upcoming Sporting Advisory Committee and Formula 1 Commission meeting approaches.
The concept was trialed at this year’s Monaco Grand Prix although the nature of the circuit merely saw teams using their second placed driver on the road to drive as slowly as possible to create a pit window for their other pilot.
If agreed the regulation could be enforced as early as the upcoming 2026 seasons. The intention behind the rule is to create more strategic interest in the races particularly those which are prone to a rather processional Sunday afternoon.
Three F1 race compounds proposed
In addition to the mandatory two stop, it is being considered that each driver musty use all three compounds during the Grand Prix whereas currently they must use just two. Pirelli have trialed all kinds of solutions to ensure a two stop race is the preserved options including not bringing consecutive numbered tyre compounds to races to force the teams to choose the softer option tyres for the Grand Prix.
This kind of world last time out in Mexico because McLaren’s Oscar Pastry was out of position as the race settled down. He was unable to make further progress so the team called him in for an early first stop in an effort to gain track position, yet this merely forced the Aussie’s competition to follow suit the following lap.
The podium places in Mexico City were take by drivers who all one stopped and fourth placed Oliver Bearman was almost ten seconds behind third placed Verstappen despite his two stop and better pace at the ed of the race. Its the nature of the circuit which often decides whether teams and drivers currently elect for a one stop race. The deciding factor is the amount of time lost in the pit lane when making an additional stop for fresh rubber.
F1 teams simulations return the same
Unfortunately in most cases the extra pace of the fresh tyres does not compensate the team for the additional time spent in the pit lane on a second visit. Pirelli have considered introducing a fourth compound for each weekend to improve the strategic choices, but world champion Max Verstappen believes mandatory two pit stops is a better option.
Yet of course the teams who have massive data analysis resources will almost certainly converge on a similar race strategy whether they are forced to stop once, twice or even three times. Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola recognises this state of affairs in his recent interview with motorsport.com.
“We spoke about this several times,” Isola remarked. “We asked teams to simulate race strategies using three different compounds for various events. The majority came back with almost identical plans—five laps on the soft, 20 on the medium, and the rest on the hard. When you add more constraints, the risk is that everyone goes in the same direction.”
Russell calls for “off the cliff” tyres
Unlike two yo three decades ago when a bonfire of the Ferrari’s was a regular occurrence, the reliability of the modern F1 cars means there’s little jeopardy in terms of mechanical reliability. An extra pit stop does introduce an element of potential chaos as Ferrari and McLaren have demonstrated this year.
Lando Norris was booed in Mexico because the McLaren team forced Oscar Pastry to yield the place he had gained on his team mate, due to a remarkably slow it stop at the Italian Grand Prix. Yet not everyone is convinced the manipulation of the racing rules will change much with the current breed of behemoth F1 cars and George Russell has been particular vocal in this debate.
“Pirelli gets a hard time no matter what,” Russell said recently. “If there’s lots of degradation, people say it’s fake racing. If there’s none, they say it’s boring. Ideally, you’d have a tire you can push flat out on—but after 15 laps, it falls off a cliff.” However, Pirelli have pushed this boundary of tyres falling off a cliff with the result being a series of explosive punctures for which the Italian rubber manufacture suffered significant PR damage.
The first and most dramatic of thos incidents came at the 2013 British Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton leading the race until his rear left tyre failed after just eight laps. Both Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne suffered similar issues a couple of laps later and teams began instructing their drivers to stay away from the kerbs.
‘Hatred in the street’ says F1 star
Pirelli tried that before
Later in the race, Sergio Perez’s left rear also failed without warning and that season after just eight rounds some twenty tyre related failures had been reported. This led Pirelli to strengthen the tyres for the following season, but immediately the number of one stop races increase by almost half.
The more regulations which are imposed on a motorsport, it appears the desired effect is rarely achieved. The current FIA “driving standards guidelines” issued each year to the F1 stewards have merely rewarded the ‘dive bomb’ move on the inside, as the drivers wish to claim the right to the turn at the apex.
The long term goal of Formula One should be to get rid of the ridiculous size of the modern cars and return to smaller number vehicles which are easier to race. F1 supremo Stefnao Dominicali is on a mission to get the eye wateringly expensive V6 turbo hybrid’s ditched at the next cycle of F1 engine changes, which will be a first step in the right direction.
Whilst at the cutting edge of technology, Formula One is also akin to an ocean going monster liner, whose direction can only be reversed over a lengthy period of time. Yet the winds are fair with the FIA in agreement with Domenicali, so maybe come 2030 the power of the global auto manufacturer’s – Mercedes, Audi and Honda – will be finally broken.
Newey predictions for 2026 and an Alonso 3rd title?
There are few who regularly tune in for their F1 fix now 24 weekends a year who do not wish Fernando Alonso a third word championship drivers’ title. The Spaniard’s relatively meagre haul of two titles came early in his career as the might of the Renault automotive company hit its stride in 2005-6.
Yet a combination of poor decisions over which team may be next up to challenge for honours combined with a fiery Spanish mentality and uncompromising competitive approach left Fernando with strained relationships up and down the paddock.
Alonso is considered by many to be one of the most complete F1 drivers ever, but his prime coincided with a period of dominance by two teams he was competing against in Red Bull – double champions 2010-13 – and Mercedes who were uber dominant from 2014-2020…. READ MORRE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
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