Pirelli expects surprises at Monte Carlo due to the mandatory two-stop strategy
Pirelli's motorsport director Mario Isola expects surprises in terms of strategy at today's Monaco Grand Prix due to the introduction of the mandatory two-stop strategy.
The qualifying session saw Ferrari and McLaren battle it out for the top positions for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix. Home hero Charles Leclerc set the benchmark in all three practice sessions, but McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri closed in on him come qualifying.
In the end, Norris snatched pole position, setting a 1m 09.954s to deny Leclerc, who had briefly held the top spot. Championship leader Piastri ended up third after a messy qualifying session for the Australian.
As for the tyre performance on Saturday, the third free practice session saw drivers continue to work on performance and on gaining maximum confidence in pushing their cars to the very limit on this track.
Almost all of them only used the C6 compound tyre, but the six drivers from Red Bull, Aston Martin and Sauber also used a set of Mediums each.
The Hard also put in an appearance but only for the usual scrubbing-in lap with five drivers: Hamilton, Stroll, Alonso, Lawson and Hadjar. It’s worth noting that the Aston Martin duo, the devotees of this practice, also did the same with their second set of Hards and one of Medium.
In qualifying, the chart summing up tyre usage features several splashes of yellow among a sea of red. In fact, eight drivers used a set of Mediums: Leclerc (Q2), Hamilton (Q2), Russell (Q2), Alonso (Q2), Colapinto (Q1), Gasly (Q1), Ocon (Q3), Sainz (Q2), Albon (Q2 e Q3).
After Pirelli's brand-new C6 compound made its debut at last weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the Milan-based tyre supplier's motorsport director Mario Isola stated that the softest rubber performed well at Monte Carlo, providing an advantage of around a tenth of a second.
“For us, it was very interesting to see how the C6 performed in qualifying again and I believe we can say that, on this track, the softest compound in the 2025 range offered a little something extra in terms of performance compared to the C5.
"We’re definitely not talking about a big difference, around a tenth of a second or so, a tenth and a half, but it was definitely there. Yes, we saw some drivers using the Medium in qualifying which confirms the performance gap is not that big and also, as we saw last week in Imola, that in some situations, the C5 can offer greater confidence compared to its softer sibling, something that takes on great importance at this track.
"Usually, Sunday can be less exciting than Saturday in Monaco, but I think that this time we can expect a different afternoon’s action to usual."
This weekend will see an important change to the regulations, specifically for this event only. During the Monte Carlo race, two pit stops will be mandatory.
The aim of the FIA and F1 is to inject more excitement into a race that has often been very linear and predictable, as was very much the case last year.
As part of this rule change, each driver will also be allocated an additional set of Full Wets, on top of the usual two, so that the two-stop rule can be applied even if conditions require the use of extreme wet tyres.
"In terms of strategy, tomorrow’s race will be a one-off," continued Isola. "The changes to the Sporting Regulations introduced specifically for this Grand Prix require the use of at least three sets of tyres, which means anything is possible in terms of the pit stop windows, given that there really are so many theoretical possibilities, not to mention appearances from the Safety Car being quite likely at this track.
"All three compounds will come into play: in fact, drivers from three teams, Red Bull, Racing Bulls and Sauber, only have one set of Hard tyres and one of Medium, so they are bound to have to use the C6 during the race.
"We know how good the teams are when it comes to exploiting any opportunity presented by the regulations, so we can expect some surprises, including in terms of stint lengths.”
