How Pirelli’s Bold New Tyre Will Define Monaco GP and Future Races

This year’s Monaco Grand Prix will look a little different with two mandatory pit stops for all drivers in an effort to make the race more exciting. Overtaking on the tight streets of Monaco has always been rare, with the last real lead change not on the first lap happening in 1985, when Michele Alboreto squeezed past Alain Prost at Sainte Devote.

Often, it’s pit stops or on-track incidents that decide who moves up in the order, not bold passes on the track. Last year, a red flag after a three-car crash meant everyone was able to change tyres early, so the race became a slow procession.

Even Oscar Piastri remarked that at one stage, F1 cars were running slower than those in Formula 2, as nobody wanted to make another stop and lose track position. For 2025, the FIA made a rule requiring drivers to use at least three types of tyre during Monaco, guaranteeing at least two pit stops.

This isn’t a solution for every race, as it could force teams to pit at the same times. That’s why Pirelli’s new C6 tyre has become such a big topic.

Designed to boost strategic variety, the C6 is the softest compound now offered and first appeared at Imola just last week. Until then, teams picked three adjacent compounds from a five-compound line-up, but with the C6, there’s room to “skip” a hardness, making performance gaps between compounds much wider.

Mario Isola, the head of Pirelli Motorsport, explained that teams always work out strategies to make just one pit stop, usually focusing on the harder compounds. But Pirelli is trying to break that pattern by making two-stop races more tempting, since more stops add drama and unpredictability.

The trouble is, when tyre compounds are too similar, teams fall back to familiar tactics. This problem grew after Pirelli toughened up the tyres at the drivers’ request, since more durable tyres mean fewer surprises and fewer strategy shake-ups late in a race.

Because they can’t change tyre compounds during the season, Pirelli started running new simulations using the C6 data from the first few rounds. They’re looking at ways to force genuine choices, like using a much harder hard tyre or a super soft option like the C6.

If a team picks a harder tyre, they pay a price in lap time but can race longer. If they risk the softer rubber, they could run quicker but have to stop more often.

At Imola, the C6 revealed a sharp peak in performance and couldn’t handle high-speed corners for long, so the medium compound turned out better for qualifying. Still, Pirelli’s goal is for teams to have to think carefully about which sets to save for the race and which to use in qualifying.

Pirelli’s chief engineer, Simone Berra, said that Monaco is such a strange track the company had to see the C6 in action at a circuit like Imola, where the tyres are under more stress. Now, Pirelli is thinking about bringing the C6 to Canada, Baku, Singapore, and even Mexico.

They’re also considering skipping compounds entirely—taking C2, C4, and C6 to some events—to create even more strategic tension on race day. The last time Pirelli added a much softer tyre, the hypersoft in 2018, it led to a dull Monaco race as drivers were too careful during their stint on the delicate compound.

This year’s change aims to avoid a repeat by forcing two stops, so at least the race doesn’t turn into a parade. With new rules and a new tyre in play, the Monaco Grand Prix could become one of the most unpredictable races of the 2025 season.

The lessons from Monaco could shape how Pirelli handles tyre choices at street tracks for the rest of the year. It’s a bold move to bring strategy back into the spotlight, but it might finally give drivers and fans the thrilling race they want.