Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali believes that changing tires when the race is stopped with red flags should be banned. This rule has been in place for decades, but teams’ freedom to change tires during a racing suspension has always been a source of controversy among drivers and fans, especially after the 2011 and 2024 Monaco races.
Stefano Domenicali “This year in Monaco we got a red flag on the first lap, in this mode everyone made a mandatory pit stop, after which the race turned into a parade. We must not allow a repeat. It is necessary to provide for such scenarios in the rules.”
Last weekend they started talking again about a possible ban on tire changes. Lando Norris said his three rivals, including championship leader Max Verstappen, were “lucky because of a rule that no one agrees with” during the race.
In many series, such a resolution does not exist. In IndyCar, teams are prohibited from performing any work on their cars under red flags, including changing tires – the race must continue with cars in the same configuration as before the stop.
Nothing will change anytime soon. In the first draft of the Formula 1 regulations for 2025, the FIA will still allow teams to change tires if the race is suspended, as well as carry out some other work on the cars.
Changing tires during red flags gives an unexpected advantage to those who don’t get in before they show up. On the other hand, it guarantees that the racers will continue the race on new tires, because the old ones can be damaged if they collide with car wrecks, which is unsafe.
The way out of the situation seems to be the abolition of the two-connection rule for changing tires under red flags. That is, changing tires while the race is suspended does not count; the driver still has to make a pit stop. But in this case other problems will arise. What if red flags appear before a driver is about to pit, denying him the opportunity to change tires under the green flag? In such a situation, most teams will choose to change tires before the restart and make a mandatory pit stop on the last lap to comply with the rule, which will spoil the battle for position.
It is difficult to find a solution to this problem that does not involve a complex regulatory rewrite. As with many other aspects of the Formula 1 rules, finding a solution that works in all possible situations is not as easy as it seems.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
