The Monaco Grand Prix is under pressure to find a way to adapt after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won in an unusually calm parade through the streets of Monte Carlo on Sunday.
The Monagaman’s first victory on home soil came under calm command from pole position, including a restart after a horrific incident on the opening lap that nearly destroyed Sergio Perez’s Red Bull car. However, as the race was red flagged, teams were able to change tires and no longer had to pit; what followed was a sweltering 75 laps to the finish line. Overtaking in Monaco is now almost impossible given the width and weight of the cars; drivers are crawling around the track at extremely slow speeds at the rear as tire management needs to ensure they stay the course.
Monaco’s contract with F1 ends in 2025 and although the historic circuit, which hosted the first Grand Prix in 1929, refuses to change, the usual rhetoric about the glamor and tradition of the event appears to have little impact on the drivers or teams. .
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “When you’re only about three or four seconds off the pace, it’s not a race because the other car doesn’t have any chance of overtaking. That’s what we should be focusing on. Things. It’s such a great place and there’s so much history here but everything is evolving and we need to work with the organizers on how to introduce overtaking opportunities.
The top ten remained in the starting order of the race, and of the few overtaking maneuvers, none were for points. The viability of modern F1 cars for racing has long been questioned, says McLaren’s Lando Norris says modern F1 cars can’t even race Head-to-head in Monaco, and after Sunday’s mammoth race, F1 will once again consider what can avoid a repeat of the past.
Red Bull world champion Max Verstappen finished sixth and was unable to even consider overtaking, saying the race was so boring he needed a pillow and urging F1 to evaluate any avenues that might offer overtaking opportunities. “We all know the situation in Monaco,” he said. “In the past few years, as the width of the car has increased, it has become more difficult. If possible, I would like to change a few small things because it will make things more exciting.
Lewis Hamilton, who started for Mercedes and finished seventh, was equally dismissive. “I don’t know how it feels to watch the race, but I’m sure people are asleep,” he said. “We have to find more ways to spice things up, maybe three mandatory pit stops?”
Verstappen currently leads Leclerc by 31 points in the world championship, but after a dominant start to the season, the Dutchman has won just one of the final three races at Miami and Monaco, with McLaren and Ferrari each One win. As Red Bull struggled through slow corners on a bumpy track this weekend, Horner admitted he believed they were a real threat in a title race that had previously been a piece of cake for Red Bull.
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“Ferrari and McLaren look really competitive,” he said. “They can’t be underestimated. It’s a long title race and obviously they picked up quite a few points today.
However, Horner dismissed the notion that Red Bull’s former title rivals Mercedes lack a competitive edge. George Russell finished fifth and was instructed by the team to drive slowly until the final third, something Horner scoffed at. “George’s race was very conservative, he gave up so much time and then ran so fast at the end of the race,” he said. “It doesn’t mean much, they’re not going to get ahead of anyone, it’s just a very defeatist game trying to defend fifth place.”
