How will F1's new Monaco tyre rule work - and how might teams try to exploit it?

Formula 1’s eagerness to prevent a repeat of last year’s processional Monaco Grand Prix has led it to take the highly unusual step of implementing a special rule for this venue only.

The series hopes that by forcing drivers to use three sets of tyres during a race instead of one, it might create more uncertainty and even changes of position. Whether that happens, and how contrived an outcome it produces, remains to be seen.

But while the concept of the rule is straightforward, there are some important details which could produce unexpected outcomes. And teams’ wily strategists will be on the lookout for any opportunity to exploit unintended consequences of the untested new regulations.

What the rule says

The key points of the rule are as follows:

Each driver must use at least three different sets of tyres during the grand prix, instead of the usual two
As usual, drivers must use at least two different tyre compounds, such as soft and medium
Drivers do not have to comply with the requirement to use two different tyre compounds if they use either of the wet weather tyre specifications: the intermediate or the full wet
The penalties for drivers who fail to comply with the rule have been revised. As before, a driver who finishes the race without using the required number of tyre sets will be disqualified. However if the race is suspended and cannot be restarted, a driver who has only used two sets will receive a 30 second time penalty and a driver who has only used one will be penalised a minute

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No mandatory pit stops

As is often the case in Formula 1, what the rule does not say is as significant as what it does say. In this case, drivers are only being required to change tyres, not to make pit stops.

Drivers must make extra pit stops in wet weather

In other words, drivers may continue to change tyres during red flag periods in order to fulfil the requirement to use multiple compounds. This was the very scenario which unfolded last year and led to the rule’s introduction: The race was red-flagged on the first lap, every driver changed tyres and no one had to make a pit stop over the rest of the race.

If that scenario happened this year, at the race restart drivers would still have one mandatory pit stop to fulfil. Of course if a second red flag incident then occured, they could complete their obligation to change tyres, but this is highly unlikely, even at a track as narrow and punishing as Monaco.

Wet races are affected too

Previously, F1’s mandatory tyre change rule has had no bearing on wet races. As noted above, once drivers use a set of intermediate or wet weather tyres, they no longer have to use two different dry-weather tyre compounds.

However that won’t be the case in Monaco. Under the new rule, even if a driver uses a set of intermediate or wet weather tyres during the Monaco race, they must still use three separate sets of tyres.

Strategy implications

As always, teams will hope to get their mandatory tyre changes done in a way which costs them as little time as possible. That means hanging on as long as they can in the hope of a Safety Car period, a Virtual Safety Car period or a red flag. Changing tyres under red flags costs nothing, while changing tyres under either type of Safety Car costs less time than doing it under green flag running.

Under the previous rules, teams essentially had two tyre strategy choices in Monaco: Start on the softs and pit when a gap opens in the traffic, or gamble by starting on the mediums, try to run longer than the cars ahead and hope to benefit from a mid-race Safety Car. But the knowledge they will have to make two pits stops will surely make starting on medium tyres even less attractive, as it brings with it the possibility a driver starting behind on soft rubber might nip ahead at the start.

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The first place to look for strategy developments in the race will be the back of the field. Last year showed drivers can easily cover a full race distance even on the softest tyre, which will be the medium this year. The new C6 soft will probably go the distance too as tyre degradation in Monaco is so unusually low.

Safety Car, Monaco, 2023 — Teams will be eager to see the Safety Car appear

How early will the last-placed driver try to get a pit stop out of the way? If there’s a first-lap Safety Car they will undoubtedly come in. They might even be able to pit twice at this stage, leaving them well-placed to benefit from any drivers ahead who have to pit after the restart.

But under that situation would the driver in the penultimate place pre-empt that move and do the same? And the driver ahead of them, or any others up to the points positions with little to lose?

Even if there isn’t a first-lap Safety Car, as teams know they will have to pit twice instead of once, those running at or near the rear may still consider early pit stops. The rate at which the field spreads out over the opening laps can make this an option worth considering, and Haas did exactly this with Esteban Ocon on the first lap at Imola last week.

Any loopholes?

The expression ‘give an inch and they’ll take a mile’ is inadequate for F1 teams: a millimetre of wiggle room in the regulations is more than adequate for them to find an exploit. If there’s a way for them to turn this untested rule to their advantage, they’ll find it.

However some potential dodges are already covered off by the rules. For example, could a team fulfil the requirement to use three sets of tyres by pitting a car, replacing the tyres, then replacing them again with a third set and sending them on their way?

No, because the rules define what it means to “use” a set of tyres. “Tyres fitted in the pit lane will be deemed to have been used once the car’s timing transponder has shown that it has left the pit lane with these tyres fitted.” Popping them on and off in the pit box therefore doesn’t count.

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Less of a loophole, but more of a tactical grey area, is teams using one car to hold up other cars for the benefit of the car ahead. This has happened under the current rules, notably with Haas in Jeddah last year.

For example, if a team qualifies in 10th and 11th, the second of the two drivers could be used to back up the chasing field and create a gap for the driver ahead to pit into. This was already possible under the previous rules, but the added complexity of the new regulations could make it a more attractive option.

How teams might try to exploit the rule for their best advantage will depend largely on how the cards fall in qualifying and at the start. What is certain is this year’s Monaco Grand Prix will be less about who can master the driving challenge of this track, and more about who can avoid tripping up while satisfying an arbitrary new tactical requirement.