Four things F1 desperately needs to change after Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen complaints

Four things F1 desperately needs to change after Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen complaints

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Stuart Ballard

By Stuart Ballard


Published: 27/05/2024

- 16:32

The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix featured just a handful of overtakes in the entire 77-lap race.

The Monaco Grand Prix is still regarded as one of the most iconic races on the F1 calendar, but this year's race further highlighted the need for change to make it more relevant in the modern world.

Charles Leclerc won't care as he finally ended his home-race curse to stand on top of the podium.


But it was always going to be a procession after the race was red-flagged on the opening lap following a three-car crash.

That gave every driver a free pit stop to change tyre compound with those starting on the mediums then putting on the hards and not having to stop again.

Both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were left unimpressed at how uneventful the race was after that.

Verstappen started and finished sixth and was sandwiched between both Mercedes cars for the entire race.

Lewis Hamilton feels F1 needs to change

Lewis Hamilton feels F1 needs to change

GETTY

“Overall the weekend is really cool but it’s the Sunday race that is a little bit boring,” Verstappen moaned.

“The scenery is still great but if we could find a way to race better that would be my preferred solution. And if they asked for my opinion I would try to see what is possible.”

Hamilton agreed as he gave some suggestions on how to make the race more eventful.“

Everyone drove so slowly,” he said. “It didn’t matter what tyre you were on. We were driving seconds off the pace. I don’t know what it was like watching but I am sure people were falling asleep.

“I can only imagine. We have to find ways of spicing it up a bit more, maybe three mandatory stops?”

GB News takes a look at some things F1 needs to change in order to help make the Monaco the spectacle it once was.

Make cars smaller

The street circuit around Monaco has always been tricky for overtakes, but the sheer size of modern cars make a possible move almost impossible nowadays.

Cars are around one metre longer than they were 20 years ago and a hefty 200kg heavier - far from the nimble vehicle Michael Schumacher and co would have been racing around Monaco.

Big regulation changes are coming in 2026 reversing the trend of F1 cars growing bigger and bigger is arguably the most important change the sport needs to make.

Monaco isn't the only race that has seen overtakes become almost impossible with Singapore and Azerbaijan also becoming tougher to watch.

Introduce multiple pit stops

Hamilton touched upon it after the race on Sunday but getting the pit stop strategy right in Monaco is part of what makes the Grand Prix so entertaining.

Just the smallest of mistakes from the pit stop crew could prove costly and introducing multiple mandatory stops would certainly spice things up.

Max Verstappen felt the Monaco Grand Prix was boring

Max Verstappen felt the Monaco Grand Prix was boring

REUTERS

Special tyre compounds

Pirelli brought the three softest compounds to Monte Carlo, but the hard tyre was still too durable for the race.

Another suggestion from Hamilton was for the race to use 'special tyres' that would ultimately force drivers to stop more than once.

It would also create more jeopardy on track with drivers needing to use all their skillset to navigate the tight circuit while managing their tyres.

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Charles Leclerc won a rather uneventful race

Charles Leclerc won a rather uneventful race

REUTERS

Different qualifying format

Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix has arguably been more important than the actual race given the difficulty to overtake on Sunday.

Putting even more emphasis on the Saturday and making brave changes to the format could spice things up.

It's been suggested to split the qualifying session into two groups or even introducing a one-off, single-car qualifying session.

The latter would bare resemblance to a time trial of sorts and track evolution may be an issue.

But Monaco needs to try something new or risk being scrapped from the F1 circuit altogether with its current contract expiring after next year.

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