The novelty of the two mandatory stops at Monaco did not change the DNA of the race compared to the past, remaining inevitably tied mainly to the importance of grid position. Although there was some movement in the midfield, in reality the only effect was to exaggerate some tactics already seen before, leading to team strategies necessary to defend points positions.
If the hope was that the two stops would make race reading more complex as it unfolded, paradoxically the race outcome was defined by a strategy decided at the table, which Racing Bulls called “a stroke of genius.” An aggressive tactic, but part of the game and already seen at other GPs.
The good Saturday performance, with a VCARB02 that once again proved solid in the slower sections, allowed both cars to finish in the top 10 but, above all, to start quite close together: an element without which the chosen tactic would not have had the same effectiveness.
How Racing Bulls devised the strategy
Racing Bulls had already considered that Lando Norris at the front would maintain a strong pace to minimize risks and try to quickly build a gap between himself and the pursuers. This factor, combined with the good starting positions of the Racing Bulls cars, provided all the necessary ingredients to launch the plan devised by the Faenza team.
Liam Lawson, starting ninth, immediately began to implement the plan, diligently increasing the gap from his teammate, who started fifth, creating the necessary margin to allow Isack Hadjar to pit and come back out ahead in less than 15 laps.
This meant maintaining a pace about one second higher than normal to create the nearly 20 seconds needed for the stop. Racing Bulls wasted no time and immediately called Isack Hadjar in, who then rejoined ahead of his teammate. A clever move also to prevent Alonso, just a few seconds behind, from taking advantage and attempting an undercut.
Why the position was sacrificed to Lewis Hamilton
The most delicate moment was the second pit stop. At that point, Racing Bulls faced two scenarios: either race Lewis Hamilton, which would have required a different strategic approach, or proceed with the plan by further slowing the pack to allow Hadjar to make his second stop quickly and free Lawson, even if it meant losing position to the Ferrari driver.
The Faenza team decided to secure sixth place rather than chase Hamilton, putting soft tires on Hadjar to push and recreate the 20 seconds needed to stop again within a few laps.
“In theory, we could have done even more. The risk was definitely high, but the decision was to let Lewis [Hamilton] go to take control of the race with both our cars,” said Peter Bayer, CEO of Racing Bulls, to Servus TV.
Having only one set of medium and hard tires since qualifying was prioritized, the team was forced to use softs, so they aimed to get through that stint as quickly as possible. “We had to use soft tires, so we tried to keep that stint as short as possible. The guys were perfect.”
Managing Lawson wasn’t easy either
At that point, Lawson was able to start pushing, lowering his pace by several seconds, also taking advantage of what Williams did, using the same strategy to defend a double points finish with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. The fact that Carlos Sainz acted as a roadblock gave his teammate the chance to create the window, which inevitably helped Lawson too.
The New Zealander could thus push and make his two stops, with Racing Bulls strategists smartly keeping an eye on Williams’ moves, as well as maintaining a safety margin without pitting immediately.
Carlos Sainz could have changed pace and tried to fit into Lawson’s window to come out ahead of the stop and block him, giving Albon the chance to push and get ahead. Racing Bulls read the situation wisely, leaving a safety margin to avoid that.
Despite acting as a “roadblock” for the first quarter of the race, Lawson finished eighth, earning valuable points for the team in the constructors’ standings on a track favorable to the car’s characteristics. This shows why it was a chance not to be missed.
“Our strategists did a brilliant job. We had our share of frustration with Laurent [Mekies, team principal] regarding strategy, but today they really had a stroke of genius. The small risk we took definitely paid off. Even more important is that the car works, the team works, and there is harmony,” Bayer added.
Such an aggressive tactic, even further exaggerated by Williams, may have sparked debate and not pleased everyone, but at Monaco it is part of the game, because strategic ingenuity is one of the elements that define a race. In this case, it served more to maximize the certainty of the result than to deliver an unexpectedly great finish.
It is no coincidence that many teams admitted they would have done the same, like Haas, which had already used this tactic at Jeddah in 2024 to get Hulkenberg into the top 10. An aggressive choice, but one that would never have worked without such a competitive VCARB02 on the streets of the Principality.
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