FIA to issue Monaco Grand Prix speed limit for F1 drivers

Monaco Grand Prix

FIA to issue Monaco Grand Prix speed limit for F1 drivers

The move comes after straight mode was already banned

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 30 May 2026 10:57

F1 drivers will not be able to go as fast as usual at the Monaco Grand Prix, the next race in the 2026 championship.

This year's Monaco GP will be the first time that the new F1 cars have raced around the streets of the principality. Following the 2026 regulations overhaul, cars are smaller, lighter and narrower, hopefully meaning that we will see more overtaking than usual around the narrow track.

The new regulations also mean that the new power units deploy different amounts of power at different points on the circuit, making use of things such as the 'boost' button and 'overtake mode'.

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While the cars normally have to harvest a lot of energy in order to be able to deploy their boost mode - which offers more power for straights - the amount of slow corners and lack of long straights in Monaco means that will not be a problem, and drivers should have plenty of excess energy to use.

However, because of this concerns have arisen about how fast the cars may be able to go on the three fastest sections of the track - the start-finish straight, Beau Rivage and the tunnel section - all of which are immediately followed by slow, tight corners.

In response, the FIA have announced changes to power output around the track.

FIA implement power changes for Monaco

The FIA have mandated for all cars the use of a different engine mode setting at Monaco that limits maximum power deployment on the straights.

At next weekend's Monaco GP, cars will not be able to activate battery deployment once they are running at 300km/h, reducing the top speeds that the new cars will be able to reach.

That rule is normally for when cars reach 350km/h, so represents quite a significant change.

It follows another rule change that has already been announced for the straights in Monaco that has not been present for the opening five grands prix weekends of the 2026 season.

Straight mode will not be in operation at next weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, with the rear and front wing flaps remaining shut throughout the course of each lap around the streets of Monaco, also for safety reasons.

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