Russell has 'mixed feelings' about the mandatory two-stop rule for the Monaco Grand Prix

10:04, 23 May

byOlly Darcy

Mercedes driver George Russell has "mixed feelings" about this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, hoping that the qualifying pace of the German team will be enough to negate the mandatory two-stop rule.

Mercedes has shown themselves to be the best team behind McLaren, beating out Ferrari and Red Bull to start the 2025 campaign.

Russell has also made a fantastic start to the season, taking four podiums in the first seven races to put himself fourth in the drivers' championship with 99 points, backing up some impressive qualifying pace behind the wheel of his German machine.

Russell will be searching for his first pole position and win at the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix

Russell unsure how to deal with the two-stop rule

Qualifying in Monaco was always the most important Saturday in F1, with a P1 start giving drivers the perfect chance to turn that into a race win around the Monte Carlo streets. However, the new mandatory two-stop rule has shaken things up.

In February, the FIA announced that they would bring in a mandatory two stops for Sunday's race to add a different dimension to the Grand Prix, and as a result, Russell is not too sure how things will play out in the principality.

"We are excited for this weekend because we know qualifying has been a strength. We've been within a tenth of a pole on so many occasions, but we are yet to fully convert it," Russell explained, speaking in the paddock to several media sources, including GPblog.

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"But with this two-stop strategy, it's going to be really interesting to see how it pans out. In the past, it was solely about qualifying, and you could manage the gaps to the car behind. You could back everybody up and just get your tyres to the end of it.

"I don't think that's going to be the case this weekend. Race pace isn't meaningless, and we know that hasn't been a strength. So a little bit of mixed feelings," continued the Brit.

Russell conflicted about tyre decisions

The 27-year-old then went into the details about the two stops that will have to be made, posing the question about what tyres should be used at certain stages of the Grand Prix.

"I think the start tyre is going to be an interesting one," said the Mercedes driver.

"If you start on the hard, that's clearly the best tyre, and there's a red flag at the beginning of the race, when you then throw on the soft tyre, if somebody starts on the soft, and there is a red flag with safety car in the first five laps, they have a massive advantage.

"It isn't clear-cut, and because there is such an advantage, if there is a timley safety car for certain people, you will have to put your foot on the gas at some point. Whereas in the past, like last year, you just saw Charles managing the gap to me so that Lando and co did not pit, which was about the most exciting race we've ever seen. So, yeah, I'm excited to see how that pans out," concluded Russell.