Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle has analysed the two-stop strategy – a rule that was enforced specifically for the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix.
During the race, Brundle, who joined David Croft in the Sky Sports commentary box, wasn’t impressed by drivers purposefully driving slowly, creating a gap for their team-mate to benefit from a more efficiently timed pit stop.
However, after some time to reflect on the race, Brundle has shared a deeper look at the rule change in his latest Sky Sports column.
Brundle explained that although he “won’t criticise anybody for trying in good faith to improve the show,” he felt further refinements to the rule change should have been introduced surrounding the timing of the pit stops. He explained:
“I was a little surprised that it wasn’t mandated for one of those stops to be taken by, say, half distance, or maybe earlier. It was clear from the outset that some teams at the back of the field may as well cycle through their stops relatively early with nothing much to lose, and those at the front of the field would take their second stop late to make the window of opportunity wider regarding safety cars and red flags.”
He added: “It was also immediately clear that teams could use one car as a sacrificial lamb driving slowly to help their other car have the necessary 21-second gap to take a pit stop.”
We saw during the race that teams such as Williams and Racing Bulls were using these sorts of tactics – something Williams team chief James Vowles apologised to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff for during the race.
Martin Brundle
Photo by: Getty Images
Wolff explained to Motorsport.com and other media following the race:
“He sent me a text in the race. ‘I’m sorry. We had no choice given what happened ahead.’ I answered, ‘We know.’
Brundle described the slow pace as “alarming,” but explained that “you can’t blame them” when the overall objective is to get both cars competing for points.
He ended with the claim that seeing some cars off pace with “a frustrated queue behind them” was “not pretty, or impressive, but effective for some. But hardly what F1 stands for.”
