Is There Light at the end of the Monaco Tunnel?

Joe Marshall- @AllSportJoe

Some things are synonymous with certain sports. Football has Wembley, Cricket has Lord’s, Tennis has Wimbledon, and Formula 1 has Monaco. The motor race around the narrow streets of the principality is older than the racing series itself, and has for many years seemed like Max Verstappen every Sunday after leading after turn one; untouchable.

The sacred Monaco Grand Prix has, until recently, been immune from criticism due to its historic status as a legendary event. However, as F1 moves into its new Americanised adventure, is it time to have a frank conversation about whether or not Monaco is worthy of hosting a race in motorsport’s most elite series?

There was a time when the Monaco Grand Prix was the first name on the F1 calendar, and it would’ve seen as sacrilegious to even think of a season without it. However, the last few Grands Prix by the riviera have been better suited to being cures for insomnia than as sporting spectacles. There is no doubt that the track possesses the potential to provide dramatic moments with the daunting barriers situated intimidatingly close to the track, but modern F1 fans want to see spectacular racing, not constant stop-start races, plagued with safety cars, red flags and potential cans of worms with restart controversy. With the new(ish) regulations designed to create closer natural racing between drivers, fans shouldn’t be waiting for an incident or a rain shower just to keep themselves awake.

The Formula 1 car of 2023 (and for the past few years in fact), is incredibly large. We have seen the effect that this size difference has had even at purpose built tracks in recent years, however Monaco is a different beast altogether. Public roads are understandably unable to move with the times, and the circuit is now clearly far too narrow. This may seem like a strange thing to say, given the niche of the Monaco Grand Prix has always been that the cars run close to the walls along a narrow track, but at some point a line needs to be drawn. You wouldn’t see the Truck Racing World Championship having a race there! It seems that unless the cars get smaller, they will always be unsuitable to race through the Monegasque streets, and while that is a shame, fans want to see racing, not processions, and that is sadly what the Monaco Grand Prix has become.

What’s more, the fan base is changing. The much-cliched “Drive to Survive fan” probably doesn’t care too much for tradition, particularly if it is not feeding their appetite for entertainment. F1 has gained millions of new fans in recent years because the sport has been able to find a market of people who genuinely find the racing exciting. If those Drive to Survive fans just enjoyed the drama of the Netflix show, they would not tune in to watch each race weekend. If a core section of the fan base wants to see exciting racing every week, why put those viewing figures at risk just to continue to pander to tradition for traditions sake? Appeasing the more traditional fan has clearly not been high in the priority list of Liberty Media over the last few years, so why keep this uninspiring race purely on the premise of tradition, when tradition is being eroded at every other juncture?

This brings me on to America. Monaco has always been the glamour race of the season, with its stunning marina and VIP guests. Unfortunately, the principality faces new found competition in the exclusivity stakes. Thanks to Las Vegas and Miami joining the calendar, Monaco no longer has glamour as its USP. If F1 has been renewing Monte-Carlo’s contract just to give the celebs somewhere to hang out every 12 months, then there is little reason for this to continue, as there are now glamourous locations all around the world, with facilities to rival even the most expensive super-yacht.

Due to these factors, there are signs that the organisers of the event are starting to see the future of their race slip away. They have relinquished broadcasting rights this year, meaning that for the first time, F1’s TV directors will be responsible for the coverage, rather than a local company (we’ll never see a badly-timed replay of Lance Stroll again). This loosening of the reins is a certain sign that the Monaco Grand Prix is starting to feel vulnerable. There are rumours that the organisers of the race now pay a little more than what they used to in order to host the race, and last year they faced criticism for their independently negotiated sponsorship deals after the image of a major rival of F1’s title sponsor Rolex, was plastered all all over the walls and hoardings. For the first time ever, it feels like Monaco needs F1 more than F1 needs Monaco.

I genuinely believe the clock is ticking on the future of the Monaco Grand Prix. If we were to lose it, I would feel a deep sense of sadness, and believe that Formula 1 will have lost a huge part of its tradition. However, there is a growing queue of countries and cities vying to host Grands Prix, in an increasingly congested calendar. Every race needs to bring something to the table, whether that is through on track action, or financial incentives. Monaco is simply unable to provide an entertaining race due to the comparative size of the cars and the track, and it no longer has the distinction of being the most glamourous event of the year.

What are your thoughts on the Monaco Grand Prix? Let us know in the comments.