MONACO GRAND PRIX OVERHAUL ANNOUNCED AS FIA CONFIRM KEY F1 2025 CHANGE

The FIA has announced that ‘Monaco-specific regulations’ are being discussed, as part of the most recent F1 Commission meeting.

Those in attendance agreed a rule proposal for increased mandatory pit stops in the race as a way of livening up the action, with the details to be discussed further “in the coming weeks.”

Monaco Grand Prix set for potential rule change ahead of F1 2025 season

While Monaco holds the most historic race on the Formula 1 calendar, the first edition of the Monaco Grand Prix having been held in the pre-F1 era back in 1929, the constraints of the streets of Monte-Carlo and the size of modern Formula 1 cars do not lend the layout to overtaking.

Qualifying remains one of the great challenges and spectacles on the schedule, but race day can turn into a processional event without weather intervening, given the tightness of the layout.

As a result, the first meeting of the F1 Commission in 2025, held in London and chaired by Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, alongside FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis, discussed proposals for what it described as ‘Monaco-specific regulations’, in attempts to liven up the action.

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With a dry race needing one mandatory pit stop to use two slick compounds, it was agreed that the race should utilise more mandatory pit stops, “with the aim of promoting better racing.”

The proposals will be discussed further by the FIA’s Sporting Advisory Committee.

Monaco already holds a unique distinction on the calendar as being the only race to not run to the full 300km-plus-one-lap specification for a Grand Prix distance, with the race held instead over a shorter 78-lap, 260km distance.

What else was announced in the F1 Commission’s latest meeting?

Other changes by the F1 Commission announced including confirmation of more stringent deflection tests on rear wings from the start of the season, and on front wings from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards.

The FIA confirmed there had also been “a number of revisions and clarifications to Sprint and Race start procedures, including those covering the aborted start.”

The restriction on the number of gearboxes a team can use in a season has been removed, with their reliability cited as making the regulation ‘obsolete’, alongside finalisation of a proposed driver cooling system after collaboration between Formula 1 teams and the FIA.

The 2026 regulations were also in focus, with the teams and power unit manufacturers highlighted for improving aerodynamic performance and energy management efficiency on the next generation of cars, with a further draft of the next set of technical regulations discussed.

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2025-02-18T17:12:20Z