After an early red flag in last year’s Monaco grand prix meant every driver made their mandatory compound changes early on and no further pitstops were required, the World Motorsport Council voted to add a new Monaco-specific regulation with the aim of improving the spectacle through strategy.

This year each driver has to make at least two pitstops over the 78 laps around Monaco, regardless of the weather, as per the regulations. This also has to be done using three unique sets of tyres, meaning they cannot run a set they did earlier in the race again, and in the event of a dry race, this has to include at least two different compounds.

But the tyre allocation for the weekend if the weather is dry isn’t changing: each driver will have 13 sets of slick tyres (8 soft, 3 medium, 2 hard), meaning allocation management will be critical. If the weather is wet, they will receive the usual 5 sets of intermediate tyres plus an additional set of extreme wets compared to usual wet races, to a total of 3, to allow for compliance with the regulation if only this compound can be run.

To enforce this new rule, the FIA has introduced penalties for any driver who doesn’t follow it. As is the case if a driver doesn’t run at least two dry compounds at any other grands prix, in Monaco a driver will be disqualified if they don’t take their mandatory stops and the race runs without interruptions or stoppages.

If the race is suspended and cannot be restarted, any driver who didn’t use at least two dry compounds or three sets of any tyres will receive a 30 second penalty. An additional 30 seconds will be added to a driver’s time if they only used one set of tyres of any specification during the race.

Driver reaction so far

Max Verstappen is one driver who branded last year’s race in Monaco as “boring” after every car changed its tyres under the early red flag meaning no further stops were needed, and he feels the impact of this new regulation “can go both ways”.

“…it can be quite straightforward or it can go completely crazy because of Safety Cars coming into play or not, making the right calls,” he said in Thursday’s press conference.

“I think it will spice it up probably a bit more. Normally, when you have that one-stop, once you have a good pit stop and everything is fine then you drive to the end, and you just have to stay focused and not hit the barrier.

“Maybe with the two-stop it can create something different, people gambling, guessing when the right time is to box, and hopefully it will spice it up a bit more.”

Fellow world champion, Fernando Alonso, thinks it could provide new chances to teams who don’t optimise their qualifying performances, unlike what is typically seen in Monaco.

“In a way I think it’s good, because it will give some hope on Saturday night.

“Normally at Monaco after Saturday more or less the positions are locked, but I think thanks to this two-stops, I think it’s going to be some hope and possibilities for Sunday.

“I think it’s a good thing, obviously it’s a test, but we’ll see on Sunday night – I’m looking forward [to it].”

Lewis Hamilton echoed these thoughts, saying it’s “cool they’re trying something different.”

“Whether or not it’s the answer, we’ll find out this weekend.”