Verstappen calls for retaining Monaco on F1 calendar: 'Part of history'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Formula 1 wants to move to a 24-race calendar in 2023, but whether the Monaco Grand Prix will be one of them remains to be seen. The contract of the race expires and the race itself has been under pressure for years because of the often boring course of the Grand Prix. In any case, the drivers themselves do not want to do without.
No more special deal for Monaco
One of the thorny issues in the survival of the Monaco Grand Prix are some special rights that former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone gave to race organizers. This is not even so much about the low entry fee Monaco pays, ten to fifteen million while for other races it only starts at 25 million, but rather the way the race is portrayed.
Monaco in fact produces its own TV images and thus which sponsors are shown how often, reports Auto Motor und Sport. The biggest problem here lies with Monaco sponsor TAG Heuer, which is a direct competitor of Formula 1 sponsor Rolex. This will definitely be part of the negotiations for a new contract between Monaco and Formula 1.
Drivers don't want to do without Monaco
If it were up to the Formula 1 drivers themselves, Monaco would remain on the calendar. Max Verstappen also argues in favour of this. "If a new circuit with this layout came along now, it would not be accepted anymore, but Monte Carlo is a part of history. And this circuit has written so many stories that it deserves a place in Formula 1."
Charles Leclerc, born and raised in the principality, also cannot imagine a calendar without Monaco. "Formula 1 without Monte Carlo would no longer be the real Formula 1. They both need each other." Fernando Alonso, winner of the race in 2006 and 2007, even finds the criticism of the Grand Prix ridiculous. "Before DRS, there were also no overtaking manoeuvres in Barcelona, Budapest and Singapore. Nobody wants to abolish these races."