The much-anticipated two mandatory pit stops during the Monaco Grand Prix not only failed to bring the expected benefits but also had side effects. Several teams with two cars in the points zone slowed the pack with the second car to allow the first to complete two pit stops without ending up in traffic.
This was possible by slowing down enough to create a gap from those ahead, allowing the first car to pit and rejoin in a good position without getting caught behind slower cars or those on a different strategy.
Racing Bulls first, then Williams, were the major players in this tactic. Liam Lawson helped Isack Hadjar and vice versa. Carlos Sainz did the same with Albon and later received the favor back. Both teams scored points with both cars, but at the end of the race, Carlos Sainz condemned the tactic, stating that his team only resorted to it in response to what Racing Bulls had done earlier.
“In the end, we were victims first of Lawson, who managed to lose 40 seconds, and then of Isack, who was able to make two pit stops in front of us. Since we were victims of that situation, we had to do the same thing as Lawson in both cases, with Alex and me, to make sure we brought both cars home in the points. It’s something I really didn’t like and which I think the sport should definitely consider. You’re driving two or three seconds slower than the car’s actual pace.”
“In practice, you’re manipulating the race and the result a bit. So, we should find a way to avoid this in the future, because I feel like it’s happening more and more every year, and in recent years it has become a widespread trend. So in that sense, the two stops, if nothing else, made the pit window more lively, but forced us to do slow driving twice, which is not great for the sport.”
Another highly discussed move — and rightly punished with a Drive Through by the race stewards — was George Russell’s chicane cut, carried out to avoid getting stuck behind the slow Williams cars, which were deliberately holding up the pace to facilitate optimal double pit stops.
“I completely understand Russell’s move because I was also very close to doing the same with the two slow Racing Bulls ahead of us in the first part of the race,” said Carlos Sainz.
“I think F1 needs to look into how to prevent race manipulation through extremely slow pace. And today, what shouldn’t have happened, happened. Today it was too easy to pull something like that off. On other circuits, it’s not possible due to straights and DRS. Everyone knew we were going around three seconds slower than our real pace, but overtaking is impossible. We’ll need to work together with the FIA to see what can be changed.”
“What could be done to change the situation? While I was in the car I thought: ‘Maybe have a joker lap, where you skip the chicane like George did, get someone out of the way, and use up your joker lap.’ I don’t know, if you can’t overtake, at least take a shortcut without a penalty. If someone is clearly defending very hard against you — as teammates — we should look more at the spirit of the sport.”
“And the spirit of the sport, in my view, shouldn’t be about manipulating the result of a race. In the past, if I remember correctly, there were heavy penalties for race manipulation. In the end, we’re not crashing, but driving so slowly that we’re still manipulating the race. Obviously it’s allowed, so it’s fine, but in the end a solution must be found.”
“I won’t lie, I’ve benefited from it. In 2019, Lando (Norris) did it for me and I finished sixth, obviously with McLaren. So, this has been going on for years now in Monaco. So it’s permitted. Today I was a victim of it, and then I benefited from it. Ultimately, I don’t want the sport to allow this, or we need to find a solution to prevent it at Monaco. So the joker lap was just a joke. I don’t think that’s the solution. We need to analyze the issue a bit more deeply, I think.”
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