Lewis Hamilton claims three mandatory pitstops can ‘cheer up’ Monaco GP

The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix turned out to be a huge snooze-fest!

Lewis Hamilton claims three mandatory pitstops can ‘cheer up’ Monaco GP

Lewis Hamilton (Via: Imago)

Monaco GP has been regarded as the crown jewel of F1. The race around the principality has been a part of the sport ever since the inaugural season of the championship in 1950. However, as time has passed, F1 cars have evolved and gotten wider which has led to a stark reduction in the number of overtakes around the 3.33-kilometer Monaco street circuit. To solve this peculiar problem, Lewis Hamilton has given an interesting solution to spice up the event.

For the first time in F1 history, the top 10 on the grid finished in the same sequence when the chequered flag fell on the track. This fact has forced several drivers to complain about the lack of overtaking around the narrow street circuit. Moreover, despite Pirelli bringing their softest tires for the race, drivers were able to complete the whole 78-lap distance on a single set of tires after the red flag.

YouTube video

This urged Lewis Hamilton to propose a solution to the problem at hand for the race organizers.

FS Video
In the end, our tires can do the whole race, too hard compounds here, we have to find ways to liven this up. Maybe three mandatory stops or something like that to liven it up a little more.
Lewis Hamilton said in an interview with RacingNews365

The Brit elaborated that drivers could do the whole race on a single set of tires. He complained that the Italian tire maker brought too hard a set of compounds for a race where tires do not go through a lot of stress. So, he reckoned that mandating a three-stop strategy could save the event from being a snooze-fest for both drivers and fans. It would also help the track from falling out of the race calendar.

Lewis Hamilton awaits upgrades for his Mercedes

While drivers complained about the peculiar characteristics of the Monaco track that did not promote overtaking, Mercedes brought several upgrades in a bid to fight for the top spots. However, only George Russell received the full set of upgrades which proved worthy as the 26-year-old claimed a P5 finish.

Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton (Via: IMAGO)

Witnessing Russell’s impressive pace, the former champion seemed eager to get the upgraded parts on his side of the garage.

In the last three races, we have had improvements this weekend, George's was also positive. So I will get it[uprgades] next week. Hopefully, in the next few races, we will have a few more that we can try to push and close that gap.
Lewis Hamilton said in an interview with RacingNews365

The Englishman stated he seemed optimistic about the upgrades coming onto his car. Moreover, seeing his teammate’s performance around Monaco, he is keen on getting them in Canada and utilizing the car’s characteristics accordingly.

Apart from this, Hamilton admitted he wants the team in Brackley to develop upgrades at a faster pace so the trackside team could close the gap up to McLaren and Ferrari. However, despite his optimism, the rival outfits are too far ahead in the car development. Thus, Mercedes’s engineers have a lot of work on their hands to overturn their fortunes this year.

In case you missed it: