McLaren boss Andrea Stella has suggested that the current Formula 1 cars are the “main limitation” for overtaking at the Monaco Grand Prix, after the FIA’s two-stop rule ultimately failed to provide further entertainment.
The Woking-based squad left the Principality with the top prize, as Lando Norris converted his pole position into victory, with the top three on Saturday – Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri – retaining their places on Sunday.
The FIA implemented the two-stop rule in a bid to heighten the drama at Monaco, with critics continuing to question the famed circuit’s place on the calendar, as only four overtakes were completed last year.
However, with no Safety Cars or red flags required, the event did not see any discernible increase in entertainment, leaving many drivers, notably George Russell, to damn the idea.
With the 2026 regulations looking set to provide smaller cars, Stella believes that next year will see the start of more excitement, rather than through the means of enforced strategies.
“I think we should praise the fact that Formula 1 and the FIA made an attempt to improve racing in Monaco,” Stella told select media, including Motorsport Week. “I think the main limitation remains the fact that you cannot overtake.
“This is quite structural as a limitation and I am not sure exactly how this can be modified, can be changed, just simply by imposing a certain number of pit stops.
“What I’m interested in seeing is next year with the smaller cars and with cars with less grip, therefore all the braking zones will be much, much longer.
“Cars that will have a completely different power unit, deployment strategy. So, we are fundamentally changing the cars and I would hope that this change of the cars will make overtaking possible even at least when you are three seconds faster.
“Because at the moment, if you are three seconds faster, still you cannot overtake. But I think this has very much to do with the size of the car, with the speed of the car and the grip, which means that the braking zones are anyhow very, very short. There’s just not materially the space in braking.”
Cars, and potentially circuit, to increase drama
Stella summed up his view by opining that the cars will be the important factor in introducing more excitement for fans, but left the door open to any potential changes to the circuit.
“So, I think more than looking at the strategy, we should look at the cars and see if we can create opportunity to overtake,” he said.
“I think this is what we should focus on. I’m not sure there’s anything that can be done from a track layout point of view.
“To be honest, I’ve never thought at this aspect, but maybe there’s something that we should consider even from that point of view.”
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