For the time being, there will be no requirement for two mandatory pit stops in Formula 1 races. At the meeting of the Formula 1 Commission of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in London on Friday, the controversial proposal was discussed, but no agreement was reached.
A statement from the FIA said: “A proposal to consider mandatory two pit stops for Grands Prix was discussed, as well as adjustments to tire specifications, tire life and the use of all three compounds in the race. The discussion was based on feedback from analyzes and simulations from the teams and Pirelli. No changes were decided. However, it was agreed to continue discussions during the 2026 season.”
The idea of making the races more exciting through two mandatory stops had gained momentum in the past few weeks.
The background was the low strategic diversity in some races – despite Pirelli’s attempt to create more differences through a so-called step between the harder tire compounds at the Grands Prix in the USA and Mexico.
Team bosses also fear uniformity with two stops
Proponents of the two-stop rule argue that additional pit stops could bring more excitement and more variability to the races. Critics, however, fear that all teams would still commit to an almost identical window for the stops.
Williams team boss James Vowles said on the weekend of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix: “My biggest concern would be that we all end up using the same strategy within a lap. You are forced into it by duty.” As a former head of the strategy department at Mercedes, Vowles is particularly good at assessing the advantages and disadvantages.
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella also expressed concerns: “We have seen many races in which one driver is on a one-stop strategy and another is on two stops. The driver with one stop is then chased by the other. That would disappear. We have to think about it very carefully and that is what we are doing.”
What percentage of the car needs to be painted in the future
The concept is part of a broader discussion about more strategic variety. Pirelli does not prefer mandatory two stops, as experience has shown that this would lead to parallel strategies.
Instead, the difference between one- and two-stop strategies should become less clear. However, the latest attempt to make a one-stop race on hard tires less attractive was unsuccessful as teams managed without the hard tire in both cases.
Another point of the meeting dealt with a minimum proportion of painted or stickered surfaces on the cars. The background is the commercial rights holder’s increasing concern that teams are using more and more unpainted carbon surfaces for weight reasons, which impairs the visual differentiation of the vehicles.
The FIA explained: “Following discussions with the Technical Advisory Committee, the issue of a minimum area requirement for vehicle painting from 2026 was discussed. Commission representatives agreed that at least 55 percent of the surface, as viewed from above and from the side, must be covered with paint or stickers. The aim of the measure is to improve visual differentiation between vehicles.”