Will F1 rule change make Monaco GP more exciting? Five key questions

Max Verstappen’s victory at Imola brought McLaren’s winning streak to an end and breathed new life into the F1 2025 title fight.

F1 continues its second triple header of 2025 with the Monaco Grand Prix. The world championship’s most famous race marks the second of three straight European rounds and is set to be another crucial weekend.

Here are some of the biggest talking points heading into F1’s jewel in the crown…

Will mandatory two-stop have desired effect?

A significant rule change could spice up this year’s Monaco Grand Prix, which will be a mandatory two-stop race.

With overtaking near impossible around the tight streets of Monte Carlo and growing criticism surrounding the classic race, F1 bosses decided on a change which will see drivers forced to make at least two pit stops this year.

This is an attempt to create “better racing” after the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix saw the top 10 start and finish in the same positions.

F1’s teams and drivers have largely welcomed the change, but it remains to be seen just how much excitement and jeopardy will be caused.

“I think it's interesting,” said McLaren team principal Andrea Stella. “After the race we had last year, a little bit of change is an interesting aspect. So, I welcome these kinds of changes.

“I think it will be trickier in wet conditions. So, for dry conditions, I think it's just interesting. For wet, it could create some situations that may be a little awkward. But we look forward to it and I welcome the change.”

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur, whose driver Charles Leclerc claimed a memorable home win last year, said: “Let’s see after Monaco, because strategy in Monaco is very difficult – it's also driven by the Safety Car. So, it will be two times more difficult for this.

“The downside could be also that if you have an early Safety Car, I think everybody will jump into the pit lane, and the pit lane is very narrow – it can be an issue.

“But let’s do Monaco like this. I think we were clever enough to do the experimentation, and we’ll see after Monaco what we can do and where we can improve the situation.”

The worst-case scenario is that nothing changes, so it feels like a worthwhile attempt to improve the show.

Has Max Verstappen made it a three-way title fight?

Verstappen was unbeatable during Sunday’s 63-lap race at Imola.

The four-time world champion was only just pipped to pole by Oscar Piastri, but outfoxed McLaren in the race by sweeping around the outside of the pole-sitter with an audacious pass, and was in total control from there. 

Despite his Red Bull not behaving as he would like all weekend, Verstappen produced a dominant drive to beat the McLarens and reduce his deficit to Piastri in the championship standings to just 22 points.

It was a hugely timely win for Verstappen and Red Bull. Not only did it end a purple patch of form for McLaren and Piastri, it has kept the Dutchman in touching distance in the title race during a critical phase of the season.

The question now is whether Verstappen can translate his form at Imola to the upcoming races at Monaco and Barcelona. The nature of Monaco being a slow-speed circuit should play into McLaren’s hands.

"Monaco is, of course, very, very different,” Verstappen said. So, let's see how we are going to perform there. You know, last year was very difficult for us. I don't expect it to be a lot easier this time around because there's, of course, a lot of low speed, but we'll see."

Another false dawn for Ferrari?

Ferrari appeared to be set for another disappointing weekend at Imola after Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton qualified 11th and 12th on a miserable Saturday for the team.

But Ferrari’s SF25 came alive on race day as Hamilton impressively fought back to fourth, marking his best result in a grand prix for Ferrari and also the first time this year he has finished ahead of his teammate (sprint races aside). Leclerc came home sixth to cap off a strong Sunday for Ferrari, who salvaged a respectable result at their first race in Italy this season.

A buoyant Hamilton insisted there is “more to come” from Ferrari but the seven-time world champion acknowledged the Italian outfit still need to “unlock the potential” of their 2025 car in qualifying, which has been the biggest factor in a lacklustre and frustrating campaign so far.

Leclerc won his home race in Monaco last year but believes a repeat of that result is highly unlikely and is expecting “a very difficult weekend”.

“I think Monaco is exposing quite a few weaknesses of our car, so I don't know, but there are also many things that you cannot really expect,” he added. “The amount of risk you take in qualifying, the car is set up in a very different way, so I hope we will be surprised.”

Will McLaren regret driver position?

McLaren squandered a chance to potentially challenge Verstappen for the win by deciding against swapping their drivers at the final Safety Car restart.

Piastri was running second on the road on worn hard tyres, while teammate Lando Norris was third on fresh rubber, having stopped under the Safety Car like Verstappen.

McLaren considered telling Piastri to let Norris past so that he could put Verstappen under pressure but ultimately decided against it, instead allowing their drivers to battle it out fairly without the need for team orders.

Norris would go on to pass Piastri and take second, but by the time he completed the overtake, Verstappen had already pulled too far clear.

In hindsight, McLaren may have missed a chance to stop Verstappen collecting extra points which could prove crucial come the end of the season.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suggested that Piastri and Norris might start to act selfishly in their respective bids for a maiden world title amid McLaren’s reluctance to back one driver over the other.

This could play into Red Bull’s hands given they only have one horse in the race and are putting all their efforts behind Verstappen’s quest to win a fifth successive world title in 2025.

How much pressure is Yuki Tsunoda under?

Yuki Tsunoda came away from Imola salvaging a point in a respectable recovery drive from the pit lane, but only after wrecking his Red Bull in a monster qualifying shunt.

Tsunoda made no excuses for the terrifying crash and admitted he was “stupid” to push so aggressively on his first qualifying effort right at the start of Q1. 

The 25-year-old Japanese driver gave his mechanics a huge repair job, with Horner revealing the crew had worked beyond 2am to rebuild Tsunoda’s car.

Tsunoda is faring better than his predecessor, but with Isack Hadjar continuing to shine for Racing Bulls, Tsunoda is not helping his case to remain in the Red Bull hot seat.

So far there has been no public criticism of Tsunoda’s performances, but if he doesn’t make progress soon, and Hadjar keeps impressing, the spotlight on him will surely increase.