Here's why the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix is different and how it will affect the race

While it is likely the most alluring and famous race on the Formula 1 calendar, Monaco typically doesn't offer a very compelling race these days. The cars are much too large and the streets far too small to enable tight side-by-side action, which is why many say that the Monaco Grand Prix is won on a Saturday after qualification and when a pole-sitter is decided.

This year however, F1 has been exploring a way to make the Monaco GP more exciting and it comes in the form of a regulation change for this race and this race alone. Effectively, while every race on the calendar requires each car to stop once to change their tyres onto a different tyre compound (Hard, Medium, Soft) as they have to run at least two different compounds per race, for this year's Monegasque event there will be a two-stop mandate in place.

This won't mean that every car has to run all three tyre compounds, just that they have to use at least three different sets of tyres from two different compound sets. This is unless it rains and Intermediate or Wet tyres are pulled into the equation.

The aim for this change is to add a bit of uncertainty to the otherwise very rigid race, as pit stops tend to be one of the few but main places where positions can shift around the streets of the tiny European country. As for whether this will fix Monaco's problems, we'll see for ourselves on Sunday, when the race begins at 14:00 BST / 15:00 CEST.