As revealed in recent weeks, Formula 1 is considering introducing a regulation that would require two pit stops per race to increase on-track action and counter the “stagnation” seen in recent seasons. However, for British driver George Russell, this alone would not be enough to boost overtaking: without tire degradation and differences in pace, more pit stops are not the right solution.
In the past few days, as highlighted on ScuderiaFans.com, discussions have intensified about a possible rule for the 2026 season that would mandate each driver to make two pit stops during a race. The goal is to make races more dynamic and create additional opportunities for duels on track.
This proposal has resurfaced cyclically over the years and will be debated between the teams and the FIA, although it is currently still in the early evaluation stage. It is a topic destined to spark debate, as it could impact the very DNA of racing and, in part, limit the chance to see diverse strategies on track.
The idea of two mandatory stops stems from developments in recent years. Teams have progressively improved their understanding of tires and made the most of increasingly durable compounds, less prone to overheating or graining. This has allowed them to manage race pace more effectively, often favoring single-stop strategies.
This has been the case even though Pirelli attempted to shake things up by introducing softer compounds or skipping a step in the tire range. Teams, however, have always found ways to control degradation. The combination of increasingly efficient cars that are gentle on tires, more durable compounds, and cars generating more dirty air—making it harder to follow and overtake—has led teams to prioritize single-stop strategies to reduce risk.
The proposal for mandatory two stops therefore aims to reintroduce a variable that has become rare, as two-stop races have largely disappeared. If it is not possible to naturally generate this dynamic, the idea is to enforce it artificially, though many uncertainties remain.
However, the real question is where excitement in F1 comes from today. With cars that are increasingly difficult to follow closely, tires play a central role in determining race intensity and variety. Today, overtaking opportunities mainly arise from differences in tire degradation management: that is where drivers find the crucial tenths needed to attempt a pass.
It is a logical point: when cars have very similar performance, as is often the case in this phase of the technical cycle, the only real differentiating factor is the tires. Even having tires that allow drivers to push to the limit does not guarantee more exciting races: if performance gaps are too small, there is not enough delta to complete an overtake. For this reason, enforcing two mandatory stops could even have the opposite effect and reduce strategic variety.
What could actually vary is the order in which drivers use their tires: when to fit the faster compound or how long to run on a less competitive one. However, without degradation or a factor that creates a significant difference in pace, the risk remains that cars will get stuck in traffic, especially if performance is closely matched.
This is a proposal that does not fully convince the drivers either, as George Russell emphasized ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix. According to the British driver, mandatory two stops alone would not make races more exciting: a deeper approach is needed, focusing on softer tires or a different tire construction.
“I think they would need to be paired with softer tires. If the tires still don’t degrade and it becomes easy to do a two-stop strategy, then you still won’t see what we call the delta between tires. Overtakes only happen if there is a performance delta between the cars and the tires. But if there’s no tire delta, it doesn’t matter if you do two stops, three stops, or just one: there probably won’t be any overtakes,” explained Russell.
These words hit at the heart of the problem: simply increasing the number of pit stops will not make races more exciting; the context needs to change. Moreover, Pirelli has already defined the structure and, largely, the compounds for next season; the only real alternative would be to drop the hardest compounds and consistently use softer ones.
In essence, for George Russell, mandatory two stops are not a magic solution to F1’s challenges, even though a completely new project in the next technical cycle might naturally increase performance gaps between teams. Additionally, overtaking itself will evolve—from the end of DRS as we know it to the shift to the Override system.
“We drivers are selfish: we want the best cars, the fastest cars, and the most fun cars to drive. But we also have to recognize that we are one out of twenty, and there are over a hundred million people following the sport every week. So, I don’t know what the perfect solution is,” George Russell added, offering his perspective on a potential solution for the future.
“If you could magically create an ideal tire, you would say that the hard could last 30 laps in a 60-lap race and then drop off; the medium 20 laps and then drop off; the soft 10 laps and then drop off. If you could achieve that, I think it would be perfect, and drivers could choose different strategies. But I recognize that for Pirelli this is far from simple, and developing a tire, considering we race on different circuits and each track has different asphalt, is very challenging.”
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