Before this year’s Monaco Grand Prix, one of the major puzzles was how F1 teams would manage a secondary pit stop for tires—particularly without the intervention of a safety car.
Therefore, the competition was characterized by overly defensive gameplay from the midfielders, greatly disappointing spectators expecting an exciting show in Monte Carlo.
Racing Bulls
pounced on the concept initially, intending to utilize
Liam Lawson
to create enough space for
Isack Hadjar
The individual from Paris could subsequently make both necessary stops without significantly losing their positioning on the tracks.
The move carried significant risk, especially since Lawson faced the possibility of shouldering the burden alone during his segments. However, the approach employed by the Italian team was eventually embraced by others too. In the end, Williams’ aggressive push extended their lead, which effectively rewarded Lawson’s honorable contribution.
What may have gone unobserved on television was that Lawson aimed to widen the lead right from the start. By the second lap, he had allowed himself to fall behind Hadjar by more than eight seconds while driving at the slowest pace allowable during an initial virtual safety car phase. Part of this time difference could also be due to strategic decisions made by Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton
who was trying to accomplish the same goal in order to purchase
Charles Leclerc
a spot to put into.
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After the VSC, Hamilton was no longer obligated to stay with the pack, whereas Lawson continued pushing to extend the lead. Unlike Hadjar’s initial laps in the 1m18s-19s timeframe, Lawson was clocking times between 1m20s-21s—and occasionally even slower—to widen the gap within the higher ranks of mid-field competitors.
The chart below illustrates the difference between Hadjar and Lawson.
Lawson’s Gap to Hadjar, Racing Bulls
Photo by:
Motorsport Network
Anticipating a possible 19-second pit stop window, Racing Bulls strategically extended the lead for Hadjar during his initial stop. By the conclusion of the 13th circuit, this advantage surpassed their expected margin. When Hadjar finally pitted after completing lap 14, he maintained ample breathing room ahead of his teammate.
Following his initial stint, Lawson lagged behind by more than four seconds every subsequent lap to allow his less seasoned teammate an additional opportunity for a pit stop. Hasaid hadjar made his next scheduled halt at the conclusion of lap 19, sealing the deal; he had executed both mandatory stops around the time they reached approximately one-quarter distance into the race.
At one point, it seemed like Lawson was struggling. By lap 20, the Kiwi driver had only slightly more than a second lead.
Alex Albon
, with the entire chasing train of cars sat in lock-step behind. The thing is, the yet-to-stop
Williams
pair of Albon and
Carlos Sainz
weren’t planning to stop and would ultimately finish at the back of the group, just like the two others
Mercedes
drivers.
The Racing Bulls had successfully provoked the vehicles trailing them into attempting the same maneuvers. By lap 24, Williams opted to employ Carlos Sainz to create some breathing room for Albon so he could stop at the pits safely. Over the following seven circuits, the Spanish driver kept retreating further to provide his teammate with ample distance from the chasing group.
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Lawson seized the opportunity and, having built up a lead of an additional two seconds over Albon by Lap 30, took the initiative to make his initial pit stop. Realizing that Sainz would have to endure similar challenges he faced during the first 20 laps, Lawson stayed calm and executed his second tire change alongside Albon on Lap 40.
Carlos Sainz is ahead of George Russell.
Photo credit: Peter Fox / Getty Images
These strategies led to additional outcomes; Sainz and Albon switched positions to allow the former Ferrari driver to complete his two pit stops, as Mercedes utilized this approach.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
to do likewise for
George Russell
.
Albon’s attempts to create a buffer for Sainz nearly fell apart when Russell bypassed the Nouvelle Chicane to overtake the Anglo-Thai racer, calculating that the penalty would be an acceptable price to avoid getting stuck behind him. However, Sainz’s concern about falling outside the top 10 vanished once Russell received a drive-through penalty for his blatant violation of regulations.
Even though the hold-up play barely impacted the front-runners, who mainly faced increased traffic during the grand prix, it still shaped the race and led to the introduction of the additional pit stop rule. Should Formula 1 decide to implement this rule once more in 2026, it may need to devise strategies to counter these specific tactics.
