Carlos Sainz admits Monaco GP lacks overtaking chances and reveals F1 drivers face challenges in finding fair race solutions.
The Williams F1 driver had criticized the race as being “manipulated” by teams, with some clearly slowing the pack to benefit one of their drivers.
Have there been any developments on this matter? And what if the FIA imposed a minimum lap time to prevent drivers from deliberately slowing down by three or four seconds per lap? Sainz, one of the GPDA directors, acknowledges that it is not an easy issue.
“Yes, but if you claim that your engine is failing and you need to drive slowly… How do you prove otherwise? I could reduce the engine power, for example.”
“It is very complicated, which is why I say it is not an easy solution. And if I am forced to run on the softest tyres (C6), we could do the entire race on the C6s and only use that compound, which degrades much more.”
“And the reality is, if I am given a set of C6s in Monaco, I would drive five seconds off the pace and not even push the tyres like we did. So that is not the solution either. It is very complicated, there is no easy fix. Currently, we as drivers manipulate the race because overtaking is impossible.”
“We have not had many discussions, but in any case, we have not come up with any idea to improve Monaco.”
“So I think the first thing to do is to see whether it is possible to modify the circuit, whether by widening it or changing the type of corners, to allow overtaking. If that cannot be changed, there is not much that can be done without altering the very essence of Formula 1.”
