George Russell has expressed criticism of the new rule requiring two mandatory pit stops in Monaco, proposing an intriguing alternative aimed at increasing excitement in the narrow streets of Monaco. “I think that’s what racing fans enjoy watching the most,” he said.
This season, a new rule was introduced for the Monaco Grand Prix. Every driver had to make two pit stops, in an attempt to make the race more thrilling. However, the starting order remained virtually unchanged after 78 laps. Moreover, Liam Lawson and Alexander Albon deliberately held up the field, allowing their teammate to pull away and make a ‘free’ pit stop.
George Russell qualified fourteenth and was stuck behind Albon’s rear wing for a long time, much to the frustration of the Mercedes driver. Russell cut a chicane, overtook the Thai driver, and was willing to accept a time penalty, but the stewards ultimately imposed a drive-through penalty on him. After the race, Russell voiced criticism of the new format. “Slowing down by four seconds is dead easy here. You could put an F2 car here that could hold up an F1 car. We absolutely need to think carefully about what the solution is here in Monaco. I appreciate that they tried something with a two-stopper this year, but it’s clear that it didn’t work at all.”
Qualifying Race
The Briton has an intriguing suggestion to create more excitement. “For all drivers, qualifying is the most exciting moment of the weekend. Do we accept that? There shouldn’t actually be a race, but a qualifying race. You do one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The driver who qualifies on pole gets some points and a small trophy, and the one who wins on Sunday gets that too.”
Russell suspects that the audience in Monaco won’t be upset about the lack of racing. “I think that’s what racing fans enjoy watching the most. 99 percent of the other people in Monaco are drinking champagne on a yacht, so they really don’t care.”
