F1 makes call on Monaco Grand Prix amid schedule crunch, race ‘rotation’
Formula One has made a call on the future of an iconic race amid a schedule crunch and talk of some popular races being taken off the calendar.
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The Monaco Grand Prix has been spared the axe.
Formula One has announced the iconic circuit will remain on the calendar until at least 2031, extending Monaco’s contract for six years.
The famous street circuit at Monte Carlo had been under pressure to keep its place in F1’s 24-race schedule beyond 2025, when its previous contract was set to expire.
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The principality has hosted a grand prix on its winding streets every year since 1955, apart from the Covid-hit 2020 season.
“I’m delighted that Formula 1 will continue to race in Monaco until 2031,” said Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.
“The streets of Monte Carlo are unique and a famous part of Formula 1, and the Monaco Grand Prix remains a race that all drivers dream of winning,” he added.
Traditionally contested at the end of May at the same time as the Indianapolis 500, organisers confirmed from 2026 the race in Monaco will take place at early June.
This will reduce the gap between races in Miami and Canada, bringing down the amount of long haul plane travel as F1 looks to be more sustainable.
F1 said in a statement: “With this agreement the Automobile Club of Monaco, in co-ordination with the Principality, has made a significant commitment to Formula 1’s sustainability endeavours and its ambition to create a calendar which is sustainable for all stakeholders.”
One of the sport’s most famous races, Monaco cannot however pride itself on being the most exciting for fans because the narrow 3.3km track offers little opportunity to overtake.
During this year’s race the top 10 established during qualifying remained the same at the finish line.
This year Monaco’s Charles Leclerc won his home race for the first time, a victory which had eluded him since his debut in the elite in 2018.
Three-time F1 race winner turned commentator and race steward Johnny Herbert said it would have been disappointing if Monaco had been taken off the calendar.
“I don’t think F1 has outgrown it (Monaco),” Herbert exclusively told news.com.au, thanks to Vision4Sport who offer hospitality for next year’s Monaco Grand Prix, click here for tickets.
“The challenge is slightly more nowadays because the cars are quicker than they’ve ever been.
“All the drivers who go there thoroughly enjoy the challenge of weaving yourself down those streets of Monaco where the barrier is right on the edge of that white line.
“Yes, the race can be quite frustrating. We have had some great battles down the years, but pole position and the front row is always an important part of the control you have for the race.
“Not every track we go to on the rest of the calendar is always super fantastic every single year. It doesn’t work like that.
Herbert said qualifying at Monaco is “always the most thrilling qualifying session of the whole season”.
“The challenge is still fantastic, that hasn’t changed,” he said.
“Why change the challenge that’s probably the trickiest of all the races in the season just because the barriers are on the very edge.
“To say the cars have outgrown it, I don’t think that’s the case. I think it has life left and can continue.
“Monaco should still be on the calendar because it does produce good races and good memories.”
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Monaco remains one of the destination races on the F1 calendar and among the most glamorous bucket list events in world sport.
“It’s always been quite popular with the Americans but I haven’t heard so many American voices in Monaco as this year,” Herbert said.
“It proves it still draws a big crowd from around the world - Monaco and Monte Carlo.
“It still has something very special in people’s hearts, just as a principality, but once the grand prix starts and all the boats are in there, the F1 is on the track, it’s got an absolutely fantastic vibe there.
“I don’t think we should get rid of that just because the race is sometimes a bit boring on a Sunday.
“That doesn’t happen every year and I think fundamentally people from around the world go to Monaco because of the grand prix. I think the popularity is still in a very positive place.”
There is capacity for a 25th race under the Concorde Agreements, but that would require unanimous agreement from the teams.
There has been pressure on some of the European races, given they generally pay a smaller fee than organisers of races in the Middle East and Asia.
F1 bosses have also flagged future changes to the calendar, with a desire for the sport to return to Africa for the first time since the South African Grand Prix 1993.
Rwanda has been floated the most likely host for a race in Africa.
The emergence of popular Williams rookie Franco Colapinto has sparked interest in a race in his home country of Argentina.
F1’s roots in South America are well known. Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio won five world championships and Brazil’s Ayrton Senna won three titles.
F1 CEO Stefano Domeicali hinted several European races will become rotational events on the calendar as their contracts expire in the coming two years.
Contracts for the Italian, Emilia Romagna, Belgian and Dutch grands prix all expire at the end of 2025.
The Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona has a deal until the end of 2026, when the Madrid Grand Prix will make its debut.
Monza’s iconic Italian Grand Prix is expected to keep its annual place, but Imola (Italy), Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), Zandvoort (Netherlands) and Barcelona (Spain) are all expected to become rotational events.
“We have some news to share very, very soon with regard to the possibility in the mid-term to have some rotational European Grand Prix and some other new options coming later,” Domenicali said on a recent Liberty Media investor call.
“This is something that, of course, we will clarify in the due course.
“It is true that we have a large demand of new possible venues that want to come in and our choice will always be balanced between the right economical benefits that we can have as a system and also to leverage in the growth on the market that we can see potential that will be beneficial for us to grow even further our business.”
The Australian Grand Prix’s contract is the longest out of any existing event. There will be a race at Melbourne’s Albert Park until at least 2037.
The 2025 Monaco Grand Prix edition will take place from May 23-25 and marks the 75th anniversary of its official F1 debut.
The F1 season continues at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday, November 24 at 5pm (AEDT).
McLaren’s Lando Norris trails Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 62 points in the championship with three races remaining.
— With AFP
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