F1 drivers and team bosses share thoughts on proposed mandated two-stop strategy for whole of 2026 season, which hasn’t seen a green light.
After a trial run in Monaco for different reasons and another one to happen in Qatar for a different reason, the two-stop strategy will not be mandated to start the 2026 season after discussions last week between the FIA, teams and Formula 1 in the F1 Commission meet.
It didn’t gather enough support to be mandated for whole of 2026 season, but they will continue to discuss it viability and if it can be implemented later on. After complaints of high degradation, the Pirelli tyres off-late has seen steady degradation, making it mostly a one-stop event.
And with following cars difficult due to dirty air, it has made races a bit predictable, as drivers feel the position gained on Lap 1 is more or less how the end will be barring any dramas midway or towards the end. In a bid to counter, the discussions on mandated two-stop strategy took place.
However, the idea didn’t get enough momentum on its side due to large list of pros and cons. Some of the F1 drivers and team bosses also weighed in on the potential ask. They credited Pirelli for its work, noting that there is no easy solution considering the different types of tarmac.
Here’s what F1 paddock said –
Max Verstappen: “Yeah, I mean the cars again have been a bit more difficult to follow and then in some races when you stay within a second, the tyres overheat quite quickly and it’s quite tough to put a move, also because most of the cars are within like two-three tenths, so then the pace advantage is not big enough unless something crazy happens with a safety car, so yeah we’ll see. I mean maybe, yes, it will be better if they do that but for sure people will be screaming as well, at the same time next year when it comes at the wrong time that you have to do a two-stop or whatever. So you will always keep that but again also next year there’s so many question marks and in general about the car engine anyway besides forcing a two-stop, let’s say like that so a lot of unknowns.”
George Russell: “Yeah, I mean, we are selfish as drivers and you want the best cars and the fastest cars and the most enjoyable cars for us. I think, we have to recognise that we are one of 20 and there’s 100 plus million people following the sport week in, week out. So, I don’t know what the perfect solution is. I mean, if you could magically create a tyre, you’d say the higher tyre could, if it’s a 60 lap race, the higher tyre could do 30 laps and then it falls off a cliff. The medium does 20 laps and it falls off a cliff. And the soft does 10 laps and then it falls off a cliff. If you could magically achieve that, I guess that would be the perfect scenario. And then drivers can pick and choose different strategies. But I do appreciate for Pirelli, it’s really not easy.
“And also for them developing a tyre, when we go to all these different circuits and all the circuits have different tarmacs as well, it’s very difficult. So, if all the tarmacs were the same across the tracks, then it would be much easier for them to develop a tyre to achieve something as we’ve spoken. As for two-stop strategy, I think it then needs to be coupled with softer tyres. If, yeah, I don’t know, to be honest, if the tyres are still not degrading and it’s easy to do a two-stop, then you’re still not going to see that. We call it like a tyre delta. So, you’ve got a delta between the pace of the cars and then when it’s coupled with a tyre delta, that’s when you see the overtakes. But if there’s no tyre delta, it doesn’t matter if you do a two-stop, three-stop, one-stop, you probably won’t overtake.”
Alan Permane: “Yeah. I think everyone likes two stops or more, but we have to be careful. So we’ve got our guys looking at it at the moment – our strategy and tyre guys are looking at it closely. I think one of the things that makes a two-stop race tricky is when the tyres aren’t really suited for two stops. So you need to have tyres that demand the two-stop race. If you force a two-stop, you can end up with everyone doing the same strategy and actually have the opposite effect. And don’t forget, we’ve seen plenty of races with one guy on a one-stop and one guy on a two-stop, and then the guy on a one-stop being chased down by the two-stop – but that will obviously disappear. So I think we need to think very carefully. And we are.”
Andrea Stella: “I agree with Alan. I think the tyres remain the fundamental factor to have some variability in the race. And in particular, whenever there’s some degradation, I think we can see overtaking and pit stops. At the same time, for 2026 – like we said before – we have so much change going on, and I think we should observe also what kind of racing we are going to have before we change the technical side and also the rules of the game. So I would invoke a little bit of prudence from this point of view. Let’s observe what happens in 2026, and then we can adapt from a sporting point of view to make sure that the entertainment and the racing is at the right level.”
James Vowles: “I think just to take the good work that was done here already – but my biggest worry would be that we end up, all of us, doing the same strategy to within a lap of each other because you’re forced that way because of the two stops. So, to the key point, let’s get the key foundations right, which is tyre degradation and the gaps between the tyres. And I don’t mind a forced rule then that puts us in that circumstance, but I have a worry that immediately where we are now – I think you’ll get less variability in next year’s races, and that concerns me.”
Here’s F1 drivers on Turn 1 situation
Here’s note from F1 Commission
Here’s Pirelli on Qatar tyre rule
