F1 News
Monaco Grand Prix to be "scrapped"?
- Rishi Wig
The Monaco Grand Prix is just around the corner. As the principality prepares once more for the racing spectacle upon its roads, a very real possibility exists that the circuit may not continue to be a fixture on F1's calendar. We take a look as to why and see whether this is truly the end of the long history of Monaco in Formula One.
What happened?
It’s that time of the year again. The Monaco Grand Prix is just around the corner and the level of excitement is building to visit the principality once more. So too is the conversation surrounding the Grand Prix. Once more, discussions surround the circuit’s relevance in modern F1. Some are concerned with the hazard of it remaining as one of the tightest street circuits on the calendar, while most are concerned about the processional nature of Sunday’s Grand Prix. Even though the street circuit has remained a significant cultural icon in F1, with the circuit being present since 1955 (excluding 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic), it has come under consistent fire recently as to whether it is truly needed in modern F1. With the circuit’s contract expiring in 2022 as well, some have speculated that this may be the last time we visit the circuit for a long while.
Perceptions
However, some fans truly do enjoy the qualifying session from the event itself. The drivers go up levels of concentration, as they carefully negotiate the tight and twisty circuit while travelling at immense speeds. It isn’t as if the entire Grand Prix is a dull affair either. Strategists have a brilliant headache when trying to spot adequate gaps to sequence their pitstops to best avoid traffic, while lower teams fight tooth and nail with overcuts to stay in the points-paying positions.
Even so, F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, has also made statements indicating that Monaco’s heritage value as an iconic F1 circuit will not be a deciding factor in keeping the circuit on the calendar. Even broadly, this places the Monaco Grand Prix within the question as to whether it will remain a fixture in F1’s future.
What now?
Unless F1 receives a catastrophic drop-off in viewership figures for this event, or the logistics are truly impossible, the organising parties will continue to work together into the future. The 2022 Monaco Grand Prix will also exist as a litmus test to see whether the new design of cars will allow much closer racing on this circuit. One hopes that with the reduced dirty air and shorter wheelbase, on-track overtakes may come just a bit more frequently.
I hypothesise that both F1 and the Grand Prix organisers are letting this contract run down as they negotiate logistics for the circuit. A considerable amount of the principality has to be taken up to host this Grand Prix. With F1 stating that greater effort will be made in organising the calendar for greater geographical ease of transport, the circuit will likely receive a rejig in the scheduling.
No matter how officials may posture that Monaco’s historical motorsport experience does not play a factor, it does. The street circuit is the crown jewel of F1. Some of the greatest drivers in the most iconic cars for some of the most legendary teams have made their names on this track. I expect it to remain so for the years to come.