The FIA shares F1 Monaco GP details in terms of track limits, DRS zone, stewards names and more, as some of the drivers speak on two-stop strategy.
The white lines denote the track limits in F1 Monaco GP, but the FIA Race Director has shared additional input on re-joining at Turn 10-11 and gaining an advantage. The drivers will have to be extra careful in that section, which may result in an investigation by the stewards. It states –
- If a car uses the escape road at Turn 10-11 (Chicane), the driver may re-join the track only when the lights, operated the marshal on the spot, are turned to green.
- Any car that cuts the chicane at Turn 10/Turn 11 and gains a position must return that position before T12. Returning a position after turn 12 will not be considered a mitigating factor and will be reported as such for subsequent investigation by the Stewards.
- Any car that cuts the chicane at Turn 10/Turn 11 on their in lap for a pit stop and subsequently gains a position after the pit stop as a result, will be reported for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage.
In terms of the DRS zone, the lone detection point is 80m after Turn 16 and its activation is 18m after Turn 19. The FIA stewards panel will be led by Nish Shetty, who will have the able support of Loic Bacquelaine, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Jean Francois Calmes.
From the grand prix last year to 2025, the Monaco GP circuit has undergone certain changes, which includes resurfacing work. The list includes –
- Resurfacing between Turn 12 until Turn 3.
- Turn 1: painted flat section of the kerb behind temporary kerb at apex T1 omitted.
- Realign guardrail on the LHS of Turn 3 Turn 4: painted flat section of kerb omitted.
- Turn 10/11: painted flat section of kerb before temporary kerb at apex T10 omitted.
- Painted flat section of kerb from T10 apex kerb to T11 apex kerb omitted.
- Turn 12: painted flat section of kerb at apex T12 omitted.
- Turn 13: painted flat section of kerb before T13 apex temporary kerb omitted.
- Turn 14: painted flat section of kerb before and after T14 apex temporary kerb omitted.
- Turn 15: painted flat section of kerb at Apex T15 omitted.
The Monaco GP weekend will also see a mandatory two-stop strategy after the FIA introduced a new rule to spice things up after some straightforward races in the past. The two-stop can be mastered as well, but there will be variables of safety car which will not make things easy.
Here’s what F1 drivers think about the situation –
Alexander Albon: “I think the biggest thing is – obviously, we’re doing this to shake it up. And the worry is that it doesn’t shake it up and it just creates, like you’re saying, a lap-one situation where everyone starts to come into the pits and just tries to take some of the space and use lap two, three, four, five – whatever it may be – to push. Who knows? The biggest thing if you speak to the team, and I think every strategist, is that we don’t really know how it’s going to play out. Especially in the midfield, it’s team-mates and how they help each other. A good example would be Jeddah last year with Haas, when Kevin made a race where he basically parked the bus and allowed Nico to have a free stop. When you do work that around a track like here with two stops, that’s definitely possible. You don’t want a race like that. That’s not to say I think it’s a bad idea to do a two-stop. I think we need to try something – but it may not really change the style of the race.”
Max Verstappen: “I guess it 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. I think it will spice it up probably a bit more. Normally, with one stop, once you have a good pit stop and everything is fine, then you drive to the end and just stay focused and not hit the barrier. But maybe with a two-stop, it can create something different – people gambling, guessing when the right time is to box. So hopefully, it will spice it up a bit more.”
Pierre Gasly: “I always see things from the bright angle. So, I see opportunities. I see some unknowns, which we should embrace rather than be afraid of. At the end of the day, I’m not too sure anybody knows what this is going to do. It might not change much. I think what remains extremely important is qualifying. We know if you get it right in quali, you’ve done a big part of the job. But I’m sure it’s going to open up some potential strategy, which we’ll have to be on top of.”
Nico Hulkenberg: “Difficult to say and to predict. But it depends where you start. It definitely adds another variability into the race that can go your way, or really against you, I guess. I think there’s quite a few obvious scenarios and pointers. I think not one team will have them exclusively. Like I said, it depends where you start, it depends where you are after lap one. You can go through all the scenarios now, but it really depends. And then, again, if something happens later in the race, that puts things on its head again, potentially. So, we’ll see.”
Fernando Alonso: “Probably it is better than one. “Obviously when you are on pole, you prefer to have one [stop] and to have a boring race and normal Monaco. I don’t think we will be on pole, so you always think on Saturday night that the two-stop will offer an opportunity to make some places and to be lucky with the calls. I think it gives some hope on Saturday night for 99% of the grid. And also, on Sunday, anything can happen if you are in control of those stops, but let’s see. I think it is test, I think on the good direction but on Sunday night, we’ll see.”
Oliver Bearman: “I think there’s going to be an element of dice rolling potentially. It really depends where you qualify. Because all of the strategies we ran, we have the fastest strategy which is obviously the one stop but the fastest two stops is X, but it won’t be that if you are starting 12th and it won’t be that starting 16th, it is really going to depend on what is happening. I think you’re going to see a big variety on Sunday, which is going to make it interesting. I am in a way happy to be the underdog in this situation because it is mine to gain from rather than loose from it in a way. If I was sitting in a McLaren this weekend – as a favourite to be on pole – then I would be a bit disappointed because it is another uncertainty that you could potentially loose a win for but I hope this can give us the opportunity to have an exciting race on Sunday. I have been thinking some crazy stuff.”
Carlos Sainz: “There’s an element of lottery that Monaco can always offer. I think this year that element is going to be a bit bigger given the two-stop rather than the one-stop. I think everyone that is not starting on pole is welcoming the two-stop. Only the guy who will be on pole will be cursing a bit the fact that the year that he starts on pole is the year that is a mandatory two-stop, and a lot of unknowns could happen. I think the teams will get around it, the drivers will force potentially to push a bit more. I’m just a bit worried of teams playing a bit too much with the pace to help the other teammates. I hope there’s not too many gimmicks with that. But we never know.”
Lewis Hamilton: “I think it’s good to try something different. If you keep doing the same thing over and over and over, you can get the same result. So I think it’s cool that they’re trying something different. Whether or not it’s the opposite, we’ll find out. It’s definitely going to be different than last year. Whether that’s better or not, I have no idea. But I like that we have something different.“
Here’s full FIA Race Director note: https://www.fia.com/system/files/decision-document/2025_monaco_grand_prix_-_race_directors_event_notes_.pdf
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