Williams drivers apologise for strategy chaos and boring Monaco GP: “Not the way we want to race”. Williams drivers criticise the Monaco GP's two-stop rule, calling the race boring and chaotic.

Monaco, anything but a show: just chaos
The mandatory double pit stop experiment in Monte Carlo only added confusion without truly shaking up the strategy: the top four positions remained unchanged, while the strategic moves by Racing Bulls and Williams brought the teams a total of zero and two extra points compared to their starting positions.

The Grove-based team, just like the Faenza outfit, used the blocking tactic with one driver to help their teammate open up the window for two pit stops. Williams even repeated the move, first with Carlos Sainz and then with Alex Albon, allowing both to gain one place over their starting grid position. However, to achieve this, the British team effectively blocked the drivers behind them—provoking, for example, George Russell’s frustration. A dull but legal strategy under the current rules, one the drivers are not proud of.

Alex Albon’s words
“I didn’t like it and I don’t think Carlos liked it either. It’s really not the way we want to race,” Alex Albon commented. “Racing Bulls started doing it and we had to follow—it made the race a bit of a mess. I could’ve brought a pillow, had a coffee, and just relaxed a bit. It’s not great—even though I’m happy we got points for the team, it was a very bad race and I apologise to everyone who watched it.”

Carlos Sainz’s words
“Lawson caught us a bit off guard and after that we had to go with this tactic, otherwise we would’ve ended up P19 and P20,” added Carlos Sainz. “I don’t like doing this, I don’t like seeing Formula 1 in this situation—it’s proof that the two-stop rule didn’t work and didn’t provide more spectacle. I’m in favour of trying new things, but this one didn’t work. We need to find a way in which the race cannot be manipulated.” – the former Ferrari driver concluded at the end of the Monaco Grand Prix.