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Pirelli's head of motorsport Mario Isola says that forcing teams into two mandatory pit stops during a race wouldn't make Formula 1 more exciting. Since 2017, when Pirelli introduced a new design of tyres that didn't degrade quickly, many races featured predictable, one-stop strategies.
Fans have called for a return to tyres that degrade somewhat faster, to allow different strategies up and down the grid. The Italian has even switched up the tyres it brings to a weekend, sometimes allowing the softest tyre to be two steps softer than the middle compound.
Pirelli pushes for debate over two mandatory pit stops: a lifeline for dull races
But it has largely unsuccessful. Currently, drivers must complete at least one pit stop during a race, provided that it is dry. And Isola says that there has been some discussions regarding a second mandatory pit stop, but this has brought “nothing really serious or applicable in the short term,” he said. “There are discussions on how to design a better regulation, of course, but this is something that happens every year.”
Isola believes that it would be a problematic rule for the sport: “And also the possibility to have mandatory two-stops. But we need to pay attention because if you have in the rules that you have two mandatory stops there is a high risk to have all the cars stopping in the same lap, because your other constraints mean that basically, you define the strategy.
“If you say you have to use the three compounds, that means you have to stop twice, everybody will stop at the same time. It’s not really something that is generating more strategies or different approaches.”
Fergal Walsh
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
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f1ski
Posts: 726
that is why refueling needs to come back it makes many different strategies possible. let teams pick the compound they want to use not what pirelli wants them to use.