Jealous of Charles Leclerc, Helmut Marko Demands One Massive Change in F1 Rules for Monaco

Charles Leclerc‘s extraordinary Monaco GP pricked Red Bull. Moreover, because of the street circuit’s narrowness, Max Verstappen, starting in P6, couldn’t overtake his way to the front. As a result, the reigning World Champion called the race “boring” on more than one occasion. Consequently, Team Advisor Helmut Marko, who has been Verstappen’s closest ally, has demanded the FIA make radical changes to Circuit de Monaco.

Ferrari comprehensively bested Red Bull in Leclerc’s home race, with the Milton Keynes outfit having no response. Marko had predicted this even before the weekend began, calling it Red Bull’s “most difficult” race of 2024. He would’ve loved it if his prediction came false, but Ferrari fired on all cylinders to reduce the constructors’ championship point difference to only 24. However, because the track didn’t allow overtaking and the Top 10 was unchanged, Marko has criticized the prestigious circuit where Leclerc took his school bus as a child.

“You can’t imagine F1 without Monaco, because this circuit is to circuits what Ferrari is to F1 teams,” Marko wrote in his Speedweek column, adding, “But something has to be done. The simplest thing would be to change the track, and there are already plans and ideas for that.” Though this option is the simplest, the 81-year-old went a step further to suggest a radical strategic change.

“Another option would be to require two mandatory pit stops or to require all three types of tires to be used so that a bit of strategy comes into play,” he added, continuing, “The 2026 regs will make the cars a little lighter and smaller, but that alone will not solve the problem. We either need to stipulate the number of tire changes or have a track layout that at least offers a realistic chance of overtaking.”

Marko’s suggestion comes from years of experience grooming some of F1’s best drivers ever. The two-stop will also hold the attention of fans who had nothing to be excited about at the 2024 Monaco GP. But Red Bull would still need to address the RB20’s drawbacks, which failed them on the bumpy circuit.

Helmut Marko gives a crucial update on Red Bull’s Canadian GP plans

A step down from the 2023 RB19, the RB20 struggles more for pace on tracks with unforgiving curbs and bumps. Monaco was a prime example of such misery and the Canadian F1 track is no less. Max Verstappen wasn’t happy in Montreal last year and expectations for this year are worse. Helmut Marko revealed their simulator-induced problems around Monaco, and that would be the first problem to be addressed before Canada.

“The problem starts in the simulator, which has signaled that the car goes over the curbs perfectly. Simply put, this means that the simulator and reality do not correlate,” the RB taskmaster wrote for Speedweek. “And Monaco wasn’t the first circuit where we had this problem. It was relatively strong in Singapore for the first time. The simulator spat out something that didn’t correspond to reality. That is the first point where we will start.”

Despite 2023’s pressing issues, Verstappen took Pole and converted that into Red Bull’s 100th F1 victory. Can the Dutchman replicate that magic and overcome the RB20’s inherent drawbacks to win his sixth race of 2024 on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.