Oscar Piastri suggests the new tyre rules debuted at the F1 2025 Monaco GP could create a controversial ending to the historic race at the Circuit de Monaco, as the McLaren driver sends the FIA a warning over the future of the race.
Formula 1 mandated that all drivers have to pit twice in the 78-lap event in a bid to mix up the strategy and promote more racing in Monte Carlo, following years of dull and processional one-stoppers.
Overtaking is practically impossible in the Principality and fans are becoming disgruntled, as some question whether the prestigious race still deserves its place on the calendar.
Whilst it created an interesting battle further down the order with which compounds teams chose to run and when, as well as the use of drivers as roadblocks to try to secure points finishes, it didn’t change too much at the front.
So, in terms of the victory, it bombed. That was despite Max Verstappen’s attempt to cash-in large if a late red flag was thrown as the Red Bull driver pitted on Lap 77 for his second stop.
Had the red flag been thrown then the defending champion could’ve completed his second stop for free and won the race through the restart procedures, and Piastri sends a warning to the FIA about the Monaco GP by suggesting it will happen in the future.
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“It definitely made it a bit more tense at a few points,” Piastri told media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “You had to push more at certain points to kind of recover the safety car windows to other cars around you or put yourself outside of someone else’s safety car window.
“So there were some strategic elements involved. But ultimately, at the front, I don’t think it changed a whole lot. It would have been quite a different story if there was a red flag with five laps to go and Max would have won.
“I’m sure if we keep this going in the future, eventually a result like that will happen. Is that what we want to see? I don’t know. But at the front, I don’t think it changed a huge amount this weekend.”
Is Piastri correct about his Monaco GP warning?
Whilst Piastri has a point about the red flag rules allowing chancers to benefit and this potentially being unfair to the drivers who opted to commit to their two-stoppers earlier, the Australian may be misguided in his criticism.
Unless his point is that a car cannot be passed in Monaco, even with extremely high tyre wear, then his complaint about the FIA’s innovation in Monte Carlo isn’t applicable solely to this track.
For example, a key part behind Pierre Gasly’s victory at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix was the fact that he could pit under the red flag following Charles Leclerc’s crash, after ignoring the safety car window to pit whilst others did.
That put him into second place behind Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes W11, who then served a 10-second penalty and handed the Frenchman the lead. Similarly, the red flag was a key part of Hamilton’s recovery at the 2021 Emilia Romagna GP.
After hitting the wall, breaking the front-wing and taking an age to climb out of the gravel, a red flag seconds after the moment allowed him to keep his place in the points. He then fought back to second, limiting the points loss to Verstappen to just six points.
