Charles Leclerc has said Formula 1 must be “open-minded” about the potential mandatory rule of additional pit stops to the Monaco Grand Prix if the plan does not work in reality.
The Formula 1 Commission has agreed to bring in the new regulation which will stipulate a requisite of extra stops in order to provide further entertainment at the notoriously tight and twisty street circuit, Leclerc’s home race.
F1 has faced criticism and debate about whether the circuit – which has held Grands Prix since 1929 – has now been outgrown by the sport, particularly since 2017, when cars became wider than before.
Given its prestigious and heritage-laden nature, Monaco has also been afforded other leeway from other circuits, its distance some 45 kilometres shorter than any other race on the calendar.
Leclerc, who famously won his own patch last year, said that whilst he is not against the idea of the rule, warned that it ought to be scrapped if it does not work.
“Because strategy will become a bit more of the thing, I think [that] is a good thing,” Leclerc told media including Motorsport Week.
“Monaco is super-exciting on a Saturday – for us drivers it’s incredible, it’s the best qualifying of the year. Then on the Sunday it can get a little bit… there’s not much happening.
“So I think this is a way to spice things up a bit more.
“But then we’ve got to be open-minded.
“If it’s the direction that we are going today, then we need to see if that actually makes a difference or not and be open to change back if that’s not the right solution.”
Speaking ahead of the F1 75 launch earlier in the week, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso refused to be drawn on whether the plan might be a workable one.
“Depends where you start,” he said. “You start in the middle, you need a lot. If you start second or third, maybe you need one or two. If you start last, maybe you need 10!”
Discussion about this post