FIA rescinds Monaco two‑stop pit‑stop mandate

The FIA has removed Monaco’s race-specific mandatory two-stop rule from the 2026 Formula One sporting regulations, reversing an experiment introduced for the 2025 grand prix. The change means this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix returns to the standard race format used elsewhere on the calendar. RacingNews365 reported the removal on June 1, and the FIA’s latest 2026 sporting regulations published on February 27 do not include the Monaco-specific provision. (fia.com) The rule had been approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council on Feb. 26, 2025, as a Monaco-only measure. (formula1.com) Formula 1 and the FIA said at the time it was intended to improve the spectacle at a race where overtaking is limited and track position often decides the result. Under that change, drivers had to use at least three sets of tyres in the race, and in dry conditions at least two different slick compounds. (racingnews365.com) ### Which Monaco rule has been dropped for 2026? The Monaco-specific tyre mandate is the rule that has disappeared. In 2025, Formula 1’s official explanation said the race would require at least three different sets of tyres, forcing a minimum of two pit-lane visits rather than the usual one-stop strategy often seen in Monte Carlo. (fia.com) The FIA’s current 2026 sporting regulations, issued on Feb. 27, set out the general race framework and tyre limitations but do not show the Monaco-only language that governed last year’s event. RacingNews365 said the rule was dropped earlier this year and not carried into the new season’s regulations. ### Why was the rule introduced in the first place? (formula1.com) The FIA World Motor Sport Council said on Feb. 26, 2025 that the two-stop plan was approved with the “primary intent of improving the sporting spectacle” at Monaco. The race has long been one of Formula 1’s most difficult venues for overtaking, making strategy one of the few variables available to alter the order on Sunday. (formula1.com) Formula 1’s own explainer before the 2025 race said the change was designed to “inject some excitement” into an event commonly decided by qualifying and then managed through a one-stop race. That applied in both wet and dry races, with extra wet tyres allocated so the rule could still operate if conditions changed. (fia.com) ### How strict was the 2025 version? Article 30.5 of the 2025 sporting regulations set out a hard penalty structure. Formula 1 said a driver who failed to comply in a race that was not suspended and abandoned would be disqualified from the results. Formula 1 also said that if a Monaco race was suspended and could not be restarted, time penalties would apply instead: 30 seconds for failing to use the required tyre specifications or three sets, plus another 30 seconds for using only one set of tyres. (formula1.com) ### Why did it not survive into a second year? RacingNews365 reported that the experiment did not produce the strategic variation the FIA and Formula 1 had hoped for. (formula1.com) The outlet said teams were able to manage the race around the rule, including backing up the field to create windows for both required stops, rather than generating more overtaking on track. RacingNews365 cited examples from the 2025 race including Racing Bulls using one car to control the pace for the benefit of the other, and George Russell taking a five-second penalty after cutting the Nouvelle Chicane to get past Alex Albon. Those episodes underscored how teams and drivers adapted to the rule rather than being forced into unpredictable strategy. (formula1.com) ### What changes for teams this weekend? Monaco’s June 5-7, 2026 race weekend now goes ahead without a mandatory second stop, restoring conventional race planning for the 78-lap event. Teams can again build strategy around the standard tyre rules instead of a Monaco-only requirement. (racingnews365.com) The next formal reference point is the Monaco Grand Prix itself on June 7, when teams and drivers will run the first Monte Carlo race since the FIA removed the 2025 tyre mandate. (racingnews365.com)