Okay, so, Jonathan Wheatley, right? The dude over at Stake — you know, those F1 folks — seemed kinda relieved or something after they tried to mix things up at the Monaco Grand Prix. Like, imagine this: instead of just, I dunno, shuffling deckchairs on the Titanic (yeah, that’s the cliché he went with), they actually shook things up a bit.
And then there’s this whole two-stop strategy thing. Apparently, everyone hated it. Like, universally. Some clever teams thought, “Hey, why not just play the system?” They used their second car to hold back the pack, letting the main car zip through pit stops and rejoin in front. Sneaky, huh?
So, this rule comes from the 2024 Monaco GP aftermath. Funny story, a red flag on lap one meant drivers could swap tires like they were changing their socks. Not much green-flag action was happening—mostly strategizing and whatnot afterwards.
Anyhoo, Wheatley’s reflecting on this race where sure, yeah, Gabriel Bortoleto came in 14th, and Nico Hulkenberg got 16th. He’s quoting Titanic stuff — something about an iceberg and some deckchairs. Weird mental picture, right? But I guess we all knew what kind of race we’d be getting if they didn’t shake things up.
Anyway — or wait, nope, backtracking — F1 tried being all revolutionary, and Wheatley’s like, “Cool, it’s not just the same old Titanic routine.” They made a switch, and now everyone’s deciding if it was a cool move or what. Spoiler: not everyone’s thrilled.
Some teams like Williams, Mercedes, and Racing Bulls had this spot-on track position, so they could pull off that crafty strategy. And folks like them made a profit while some just watched, I guess.
In the end, Lance Stroll pulled off this neat overtaking move. Like, really slick. But Nico? He kinda thought, “Eh, not worth the hassle,” and didn’t push his luck. So yeah, some drama here and there, but typical F1 vibes overall. Go figure.
