Monaco GP experiment was manipulated into a mockery

Pit-stop regulation flopped - but two changes can save race

- KIERAN JACKSON

Kudos for trying. After last year’s no-change procession, the kingmakers at Formula One had to change something at the sport’s traditional blue-riband event. A mandatory two pit stops had never been written into the rulebook before; the aroma of mystique was palpable ahead of raceday in Monte-Carlo.

As it turned out, the brains and boffins in the garages made a mockery of the regulation. Racing Bulls showed their hand first, with Liam Lawson driving purposefully slowly to hold up the pack behind him, allowing teammate Isack Hadjar to pit again without losing position. Then, Williams followed suit – with Carlos Sainz and then Alex Albon lapping nearly six seconds a lap slower than the frontrunners.

For both teams, double-points finishes. A tactic reeking of gamesmanship worked to perfection. It was all fair game – but it was master manipulation. As 2009 world champion Jenson Button put it afterwards: “It was all just a bit silly.”

Even for the drivers who benefited from the strategy, there was little solace in the leaderboard. Their racing instinct was curtailed, at one of the sport’s most glorious circuits to drive. That is not right.