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Formula 1 hopes extra pit stop livens up this year’s Monaco GP

AP photo by Manu Fernandez / Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, front, and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crash during practice Friday for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, a prestigious Formula 1 race but also one known for a lack of passing on the narrow city streets in Monte Carlo.
AP photo by Manu Fernandez / Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, front, and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crash during practice Friday for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, a prestigious Formula 1 race but also one known for a lack of passing on the narrow city streets in Monte Carlo. AP photo by Manu Fernandez / Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, front, and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crash during practice Friday for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, a prestigious Formula 1 race but also one known for a lack of passing on the narrow city streets in Monte Carlo.

By JAMES ELLINGWORTH / The Associated Press 3 min read

The Monaco Grand Prix may be “the jewel in Formula 1’s crown,” but the race itself is rarely must-see TV.

Sometimes, it’s downright dull.

F1 and its governing body, FIA, hope a new rule for Sunday’s race will change that. Drivers will be forced to change tires at least twice in the hope that more pit stop strategy could shake up an event where Saturday qualifying — and the resulting grid position — is often more important than race day.

“I guess it can go both ways,” Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, the winner of the past five season championships on the international open-wheel circuit, said Thursday. “It can be quite straightforward, or it can go completely crazy because of safety cars coming into play or not making the right calls. I think it will spice it up probably a bit more.”

The change is designed to stop a repeat of last year, when a first-lap crash brought out the red flag, allowing everyone to make their one mandatory tire change.