The speed in the stands raised on two GPs for more spectacle?

The first Grands Prix of the 2025 season aroused concerns about the monotony of strategies in one stop. To remedy it and encourage more strategic variety, Pirelli chose to bring tires a tender notch than those of last year in Djeddah and Miami. The objective is simple: to cause faster degradation of gums and encourage to multiply stops to offer more spectacle to the public.

However, in Djeddah, this approach had little effect: the wear of the tires being low, the strategies to a stop remained possible. On the other hand, it could be more effective in Miami. During the weekend of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the CEO of F1, Stefano Domenicali, spoke with Mario Isola, director of Pirelli Motorsport, to discuss the situation and the tracks to explore to spice up certain races by the end of the season.

Lift the speed in the channel of the stands?

In addition to the softer tires, the FIA ​​envisages other measures, according to the information collected by Motorsport.com In Miami’s paddock. One of them would be to increase the maximum speed authorized in the channel of the stands. It is currently set at 80 km/h for the majority of the great prices, with four exceptions: Melbourne, Monaco, Zandvoort and Singapore, where it is lowered to 60 km/h for security reasons.

The FIA ​​said that this limitation cannot be changed for Monaco, but it wishes to intervene in Zandvoort and Singapore. The goal is to raise the speed at 80 km/h, as in most circuits. This measure would reduce the total duration of stand stops and make the strategies to several viable stops. In Singapore, for example, a complete passage by the stands could go from 28-29 seconds to only 23 seconds.

The FIA ​​specifies that “Minor adjustments” will have to be carried out in the Pitlane of Zandvoort and Singapore to allow this evolution. These modifications must first be made and validated before any official announcement.

A modification of the regulation is not necessary, since article 34.7 of the FIA ​​sports regulations already stipulates: “A speed limit of 80 km/h will be imposed in the channel of the stands throughout the competition. However, this limit can be modified by the race director on recommendation of the security delegate”.

What alternative for Monaco?

In the case of Monaco, where any increase in speed limits in the stands is excluded, the FIA ​​has already bet on another solution, announced even before the start of the season: to make a minimum of two stops compulsory. Several pilots, however, question the real efficiency of this measure and its concrete implementation.

“I’m not sure how it will work”slides Oliver Bearman at Haas. “I guess they will impose a tour from which we can stop, a bit like in F2. Otherwise, I could just stop in the first round, again in the second, and then do the whole race in hard tires.”

“But I’m sure they found a solution to avoid that, with a refueling window that would open from the 15th round or something like, I imagine. It could still generate interesting results.”