Going slow was one way to secure points at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday as Formula 1s much-hyped attempt to shake up the prestigious race brought little drama.
Overtaking is near-impossible on Monacos narrow streets. To make the race more of a strategy contest, F1s governing body, the FIA, required two tire changes in the hope that smartly timed pit stops would create drama.
Last years winner Charles Leclerc had predicted chaos but instead it was a frustrating race for many drivers as some drove extra slowly to create a gap for a teammate in front to pit without losing positions. Mercedes driver George Russell argued the go-slow led to dangerous situations.
Norris criticizes manufactured racing
Winner Lando Norris was scathing about the rule change, something he saw as an attempt to create manufactured racing.
Norris spent much of the race behind Max Verstappen, who delayed his second stop, hoping for a red-flag stoppage. That would have allowed a free tire change, and maybe given Verstappen the win.
Theres not been any more overtaking here. I thought that was what was wanted, Norris said. Now you just give people opportunity by luck, by waiting for a red flag, waiting for a safety car. You arent getting a more deserved winner in the end of things.
Dangerously slow driving frustrates Russell
Mercedes driver George Russell spent much of his race stuck behind slow cars. Tensions boiled over when he accused Williams Alex Albon of driving dangerously slow and slamming on the brakes in a terse radio message from Russell to his team.
Russell overtook Albon by cutting a chicane, adding hed rather take the penalty than wait any longer. The stewards had predicted drivers might try that and Russell landed a longer-than-usual penalty which dropped him back behind Albon. Russell finished 11th, his worst result this year.
Williams wasnt the first team to drop the pace. Its drivers were reacting to an earlier go-slow from Racing Bulls. Liam Lawson held up cars and secured space for his teammate Isack Hadjar to make two stops before many other drivers had made one.
In the end, though, none of the more unusual strategies made much difference.
Verstappen made his long-delayed second stop and placed fourth, exactly where hed started. Racing Bulls had little to show for its efforts as Hadjar started fifth but finished sixth. Both Williams drivers stayed in the points after each moved up a spot to ninth and 10th, but that gain was only because Fernando Alonsos Aston Martin broke down.
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在周日举行的摩纳哥大奖赛上，慢速行驶是获得积分的一种方式，因为一级方程式赛车试图对这一备受瞩目的比赛进行改革，但并未带来太大的波澜。
在摩纳哥狭窄的街道上超车几乎不可能。为了让比赛更多地成为一场策略竞赛，F1的管理机构FIA要求更换两次轮胎，希望通过精确的进站策略能够增加比赛的戏剧性。
去年冠军Charles Leclerc曾预测将出现“混乱”，然而实际上却是许多车手因为某些车手故意开得特别慢来为前面的队友腾出进站空间而不丢失位置，而感到沮丧。梅赛德斯车队的乔治·拉塞尔（George Russell）认为这种慢速行驶导致了危险的情况。
诺里斯批评“人为制造”的赛车
胜者兰多·诺里斯（Lando Norris）对规则的改变表示了尖锐的批评，他认为这是试图制造“人造竞赛”的尝试。
诺里斯在大部分时间里都落后于马克斯·维斯塔潘，维斯塔潘推迟了第二次进站，希望出现红旗中止比赛的情况。如果那样的话，他将可以免费更换轮胎，也许还会让维斯塔潘赢得比赛。
“这里再没有更多的超车了，我认为这就是大家所期待的，”诺里斯说。“现在你只是靠运气、靠等待红旗、等待安全车来给人们机会。在最终，你不会得到一个更应得的获胜者。”
驾驶速度“危险地慢”使罗素感到沮丧
梅赛德斯车队的乔治·拉塞尔（George Russell）在比赛中大部分时间都陷在慢车后面。当拉塞尔向他的车队发来简短的无线电信息，指责威廉姆斯车队的亚历克斯·阿尔本（Alex Albon）“开得极其缓慢”和“猛踩刹车”时，紧张局势骤然升级。
拉塞尔通过捷径超越了阿尔本，并表示他宁愿“接受处罚”也不愿再等待。赛会官员预测，车手们可能会尝试这样做，而拉塞尔所受的处罚比以往更长，这让他重新回到了阿尔本之后。拉塞尔最终以第11名完赛，这是他今年的最差成绩。
威廉姆斯车队并不是第一个放慢速度的队伍。他们的车手们是在对牛头赛车的早前减缓速度的举动作出反应。利亚姆·劳森（Liam Lawson）让其他车辆减速，为他的队友伊萨克·哈扎尔（Isack Hadjar）腾出空间，以便他在许多其他车手只做了一次停站之前完成两次停站。
尽管如此，到头来，那些不太常见的策略并没有产生太大的影响。
维斯塔潘终于完成了他的第二次进站，并以第四名的成绩完成比赛，这与他最初的排名完全一致。由于哈达尔从第五名出发但最终只获得第六名，红牛车队（Racing Bulls）的付出几乎没有得到什么回报。在各自前进一位分别获得第九和第十名后，两位威廉姆斯车队的赛车手仍然保持了积分的位置，但这种进步仅仅是因为费尔南多·阿隆索（Fernando Alonso）的阿斯顿·马丁（Aston Martin）赛车发生了故障。
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