The Unique New Rule for the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix

What Is the New Rule?

All drivers will be required to make at least two pit stops during the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix. This will apply to both wet and dry conditions.

Every car – if still running – must use at least three sets of tyres in the 78-lap race.

These sets must be divided across at least two of the different tyre compounds.

The aim of the rule is to bring strategy into play more and help make the race more exciting.

F1 Grands Prix usually require drivers to use at least two different compounds during a dry race.

Why is the New Rule in Place?

Monaco has proven a difficult track for overtaking in recent years, meaning viewers are often left watching a procession around the twisty, narrow streets.

Indeed, in 2024, the race saw the fewest number of DRS (one), and non-DRS-assisted (two) overtakes of any race on the calendar.

Furthermore, the new regulation should see a repeat of last year’s Grand Prix avoided. A first-lap crash brought out the red flags, allowing all drivers – under usual FIA procedure – to change to a fresh set of tyres.

This led to a scenario with all drivers completing laps well off the pace in an effort to preserve their rubber to the end of the Grand Prix, safe in the knowledge that they could keep the car behind owing to Monaco’s distinct lack of overtaking opportunities.

Should the same narrative play out in 2025, drivers would still have to make a visit to the pits during the race, increasing the likelihood of undercuts, overcuts and time lost in the pitlane to affect the final race order.

What If Teams Do Not Stop Twice?

Punishments for not adhering to the new rules this weekend could be severe.

FIA rules state: "For the race in Monaco, if the race is suspended and cannot be re-started, thirty (30) seconds will be added to the elapsed time of any driver who did not, when required to do so, use at least two (2) specifications of dry-weather tyre during the race, or who did not use at least three (3) sets of tyres of any specification during the race.

"Furthermore, an additional thirty (30) seconds will be added to the elapsed time of any driver who used only one (1) set of tyres of any specification during the race."

Shov’s View

Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin is intrigued to see how and if the new rule will shake things up.

“It definitely reduces the probability of teams saving their tyres to run to the end,” he said.

“It will be interesting though because it's a race where you know how many times everyone's going to stop.

“It'll be quite predictable from that point of view, but it will also be quite challenging from a strategic point of view because ideally at Monaco in the past you got out in front and stayed there.

“But having to make two pit stops, that's going to be even more challenging.”

Have We Seen This Before?

Not exactly, but a tyre-related rule was implemented for the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.

Because of concerns about tyre wear, drivers were not allowed to exceed 18-laps on a single set of rubber.

This effectively forced the whole grid to pit three times during the 57-lap race.