Charles Leclerc gives verdict on FIA proposal to modify pit lane speed limits. Charles Leclerc responds to the FIA’s proposal to raise pit lane speed limits at select GPs.

The FIA Fights the “Qualifying Formula”
The FIA is looking to increase the minimum speed in the pit lane at certain events to make pit stops less “costly,” with the goal of spicing up races and increasing strategic variability in Grands Prix.

This intention emerged after the first five races (including the Sprint in China) were won by the pole sitters (Lando Norris in Australia, Max Verstappen in Japan, Lewis Hamilton in the Shanghai Sprint, and Oscar Piastri in Bahrain and the Chinese GP). The Saudi Arabian GP broke the trend, but even in Jeddah the race was decided at the first corner with Max Verstappen’s move on Piastri: the Australian only got ahead of the world champion due to a five-second penalty, not an overtaking maneuver on track.

Charles Leclerc’s comments
The FIA – in discussions with the teams and Liberty Media – is analyzing the situation, as it has done for the Monaco GP, where for the first time two pit stops will be mandatory in order to increase race variables and avoid processional races from start to finish. In Miami, the topic was also brought to the drivers, and Charles Leclerc agreed: “I had never heard of this proposal, and I don’t think it makes sense to apply it to every race. But at some circuits, it could work. I’ll need to analyze the details more, but at first glance, and only at selected races, it might make sense.”

Liberty Media, with Stefano Domenicali, and Pirelli are also studying solutions. The Milanese company might opt for more aggressive compound choices to encourage more pit stops, while another option would be to increase the compound jumps (for example, avoiding the C2-C3-C4 trio) to further differentiate performance.

It should also be noted that the pit lane speed limit has been in effect for all sessions since 1994, introduced after the tragic Imola weekend. The current limit is 80 km/h (introduced in 2014) and is unlikely to be changed. It is more probable that the limit will be raised to 80 km/h at tracks where it is currently 60 km/h, such as Monaco, Singapore, Melbourne, and Zandvoort.