FIA set to introduce measurements against grass fire and mandatory two stops for Monaco Grand Prix

Having held its second meeting of 2025, F1 Commission has announced the introduction of the mandatory two-stop strategy at the Monaco Grand Prix while it has also confirmed possible measurement against grass fire.

The second meeting of the Formula 1 Commission in 2025 took place on the 24th of April at the offices of the FIA in Geneva and online. The meeting was chaired by FIA Single-Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis and FOM President and CEO Stefano Domenicali.

The Commission has confirmed several updates to the 2025 regulations, with all of them being minor refinements to the sporting regulations.

The Monaco Grand Prix has constantly received criticism in the past years due to the lack of overtaking opportunities. Although the issue has not been new, recent technical changes that made the current F1 cars wider, made the problem ever more prominent.

Previous years saw the leading driver reduce his speed in order by up to three seconds in order to look after the tyres and make sure that a single-stop strategy was possible. Wet races that included more pit stops and uncertainty proved much more enjoyable.

Formula One's governing body revealed in February that this year's Monaco Grand Prix might run under a unique set of sporting rules which would see the number of mandatory pit stops increase from the current one to at least two obligatory pit services.

The F1 Commission has now revealed the final amendments that are "required for the implementation of the mandatory 2-stop strategy at the Monaco GP."

In addition, updates have been agreed in relation to the parc ferme allowances regarding the situation where a driver elects not to wear the cooling vest.

Addition of a regulatory mechanism to manage the situation of freight delays on fly-away events, as was experienced by a number of teams at the recent Chinese GP.

Regarding the Financial Regulations, an amendment was agreed in respect of "capital expenditure allowance for new entrants, this being necessary ahead of the arrival of Cadillac Formula 1 team in 2026."

Following last year's incidents in Shanghai, grass fires continued to wreak havoc at this year's Japanese Grand Prix as practice and qualifying sessions were halted three times when three separate blazes broke out.

The F1 Commission also discusses the grass fire incidents and "it was agreed to investigate both an alternative skid material (steel) and potential treatment on some circuits."

Furthermore, the 2026 engine rules were a key point on the agenda of the meeting of the F1 Commission. With the current engine programmes being subject to a budget cap, it might be even more difficult to those who find themselves behind to catch up

The sport clearly wishes to avoid the scenario that happened in 2014 when the current era of power unit began. Back then, Mercedes stole a march on the rest of the field and it took for years for some manufacturers to catch up.

That is why the F1 Commission discussed measures to address financial issues "that can be faced by Power Unit Manufacturers that experience either low performance or significant reliability issues in 2026."

In addition, amid fears that the new power units might run out of electrical power on circuits with long straights, the Commission also discussed in principle refinements to the energy management strategy for 2026.