Overview
- FIA’s two‑stop proposal was presented to drivers in Mexico and is slated for formal debate at the next F1 Commission meeting.
- Pirelli’s Mario Isola backs exploring a minimum two‑stop but suggests not obliging mixed compounds to avoid identical strategies.
- Max Verstappen urges caution given major 2026 technical unknowns, while George Russell says the idea only works with greater tyre degradation to create an overtaking delta.
- Pirelli engineer Simone Berra and team bosses Alan Permane, Andrea Stella and James Vowles warn a mandate could homogenise tactics and argue for better compound spacing and patience with 2026 rules.
- A separate Qatar GP safety step is under discussion to cap stint length or tyre mileage, a move that would force at least two pitstops after past wear‑related issues and punctures at Lusail.