Every year, before and especially after the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, the debate arises as to whether this legendary stage is necessary on the World Championship calendar. And after the 2024 race, you just want to shout: either you do something or we say goodbye to the legend.
What about Monaco and Formula 1?
The last Grand Prix immediately exposed all the problems of both the Monaco track and Formula 1 in general. Firstly, the street circuit in its current form is simply too narrow for modern barge cars. The 2026 regulations will not particularly improve the situation: there the cars will be a little more compact, but not radically. Secondly, in Monte Carlo there is not a single long straight where an opponent can approach the driver in front and then attack while braking. Third, the track is so easy on the tires that even the second-to-last set of softest tires, the C4 (“medium” for this race), are able to hold up to the race if driven at a walking pace. And that pace is possible because of the second problem described above: overtaking is unrealistic, so cyclists can go 3-4 seconds slower than they could and they will get nothing in return.
Someone will say: well, this is Monaco, we have to understand and forgive. Remember, they say, the satisfied sponsors on the yachts, the juicy television pictures, the unusual attention to qualifications… But try to explain it to a stranger: they say, during the season we have a regatta in which no one overtakes anyone. , there is almost nothing about Sunday’s driver that does not depend even on F1 standards. This is a tradition and you can’t touch it.
Related materials
Classification
Who is the worst driver of the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix?
Of course, in Formula 1 there should be completely different tracks: modern and “classic”, easy to overtake and difficult, stationary and street. We don’t need 25 state-of-the-art circuits in the Middle East with two or three kilometer straights where drivers can easily overtake with DRS activated. But is it really necessary to go to the other extreme and do nothing with the Grand Prix, during which nothing happens?
Is it normal that the race leader consciously arranges a train behind him and the wheelhouses do not think about how to pass the Grand Prix as quickly as possible, but on the contrary, about how not to get too far from the next group and? give competitors a “free” pit stop? Is this a race or a draw?
Modern F1 cars in Monte Carlo are very cramped and boring.
Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
What can be done
We might sigh deeply and throw up our hands if the situation could not be corrected. But it is possible! Take the same track configuration: more than once or twice schematics have appeared in the press about how the circuit could be changed by adding at least one complete straight line. It is quite possible to do this with the existing road network, if desired. And if anyone calls this idea an attempt to modify the legendary circle configuration, let us remind you: the current layout of the circuit is officially the eighth in history. So there is nothing to save here.
It seems that the local organizers may be against the configuration changes, but they have already given in on other issues: they introduced a promotion fee, prohibited posting their own advertising and eliminated the organization of a television broadcast. It’s time to go ahead and “fix” the track itself. The current contract with F1 is valid until the end of 2025, so everything can be discussed when negotiating an extension.
Nobody has canceled simple measures: for example, it is mandatory to use all three types of tires during a race or limit the segments of a compound to, say, 30 laps. Remember how a similar restriction was introduced at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix due to the new “sharp” curbs, and it turned out to be funny? Also, for the pilots, oh horror! — I had to run as hard as I could during the entire race, so a lot of people felt bad after finishing.
Related materials
The Qatar Grand Prix became a real hell: during the race, the drivers felt sick and lost consciousness
Finally, Formula 1 needs to globally understand the handling of cars during a red flag. Let’s assume that car repairs are acceptable and logical, but clearly something can be done with the tires: prohibit their change or not consider that the drivers have fulfilled their obligation to use two different types of tires.
These types of amendments, exclusively for Monaco or for the entire World Cup, are prepared and approved quite easily. Let’s hope that the last Grand Prix, in which the positions of the top 10 drivers did not change at all after qualifying and the five leaders drove the entire race with the same set of tires, will finally be the trigger for change.
Related materials
