Have Your Say: Monaco Grand Prix - Time for a Change?

[Ghoults]

I don't really have a strong opinion about it. For some reason the win is rated very highly even if the racing is very poor. Maybe part of the appreciation for the track comes from the idea that monaco is or used to be one of the tracks where driver could make a difference. Monza used to be about engine and spanish gp is about downforce. But monaco was the track where drivers earned their salaries. Nowadays I don't think so. I don't really see it as a driving challenge anymore either. The cars are easy to drive compared to the turbo beasts of the 80s or the v10s of the early 2000s.

But it is also just one track. I would not be sad or annoyed if exception was made to keep monaco in. Or of it was removed from the calendar. It is unique race and circuit and even if the racing is dull and literally nothing happens it is still... unique. While the driver skill and ability have been lost and all it has left is glam and glitter it still does enough to be there. Or does it?

Maybe it is time for it to go because I don't really care? If you care about something and find something negative about it then you voice your opinion and hope it gets fixed. If you like something you say it as well. But if there is something that doesn't really get any kind of reaction from you then maybe it is a sign that the race has outlived its purpose?

 

[Farrow_21]

I still enjoyed this years Monaco. I did not think it was boring at all maybe the lead didn't change but at least I was still in suspense until the Checkered flag to see if Ric could still make it happen.
This said I think it would be pretty cool (I'm sure 100% unrealistic) If they didn't race the F1 cars at Monaco & Each team develops or FIA develops a 1 off Monaco Chassis. It Could be spec cars so not to put as much development burden on small teams. But i think it would be cool if they had Monaco specific cars that are way smaller in width & length like half or Closer to Formula 4 size.
I Believe that's the biggest issue @ monaco Is just the pure size of modern F1 cars. I obviously don't think it would ever happen but i can dream lol.

 

[gamer19]

Leave it as it is.

Just make sure it's raining on (any given) sunday.

 

[destinationriver]

I don't no why so many people want to hang on with Monaco. The race is simply boring. Sure it's a classic, but natural selection by tight walls is not was racing is for me. Give them nicer street races, Long Beach would be very cool, but also wider tracks like Baku produce better races than Monaco. It's time to change, leaving it in because it's a classic would be stupid!

 

[gamer19]

Basically... it all comes down to this.

People under 16 voted for "it's boring, why are we still bother with it?"
and people over 50 are like "it's a part of the (F1) history maaan, you can't just forget about it! or... make stupid changes!".
And those in between...
they're mostly neutral, they stand aside and look who's win. While laughing.

 

[Haiden773]

Wouldn't want to see the track dropped from the calendar, because it's a part of F1, but something definitely needs to change. Whether it's the track or the cars, doesn't matter to me. But depending on pit undercuts, safety cars, and/or red flags for overtakes and action is just not what racing is about.

 

[Nick Hill]

Leave it alone, please. Tinker elsewhere, but not Monaco.

Too much history. Too vital of a legacy. Too much of a visual spectacle.

The races will not have much passing, but that is something I can personally live with. I still consider it a breathtaking feat of driving prowess to drive an F1 car at speed in that setting.

 

[HK2014]

 

[Felipe Gelani]

Monaco is one of the few tracks where drivers in slower cars can show their talent, like Ocon and Gasly this year (or even Ricciardo being ahead of Ferraris and Mercs). And it can show that other drivers are really bad, like Stroll.

 

[pjlx911]

I don't personally think it's the track that's the issue.

It's the cars, and the league racing on said track, that's the issue. This honestly is the result of the manufacturers (and mainly the top three) when they have all the power. You get "racing" that only benefits those top teams, and is at the sacrifice of competition and fan's entertainment. In essence, the "racing" is more reminiscent of Monterrey Vintage Hot-Lap "racing." Where there's really no passing, and it's mostly a procedural affair where all the cars are in single file and are just knocking out hot-laps until the eventual finish.

Honestly, the actual solution is to simplify the cars, cut back on all the largely unnecessary Aero, and shorten the size of the cars. That would pretty much guarantee not also awesome racing in Monaco, but on every track. But seeing how Liberty Media had to use a loop-hole to even get the Aero even remotely simplified, I doubt that any of the three main teams in F1 will allow such a thing that would actually make F1 actually entertaining to watch past 5 laps.

There's a reason why F1 is struggling to gain viewers, relevancy, and seems to be living off of past accomplishments. The sport long since detached itself from road-going cars (WEC is more comparable as a whole), and all this technological masturbation, is completely lost on practically everyone else but Engineers and the most hardcore of racing fans (who will spluge on about some tiny thing on the car no one really gives a crap about).

After all, it's "great" that Riccardo broke the track record, or what have you, but it's all really worth nothing if Qualifications are more entertaining to watch than the race itself. And that falls squarely on the top-3 teams having way too much say and completely bastardizing the entertainment purposes of allowing competition, outside of themselves.

 

[Knoxstar]

Now don't beat me up for this but let's think outside the box.

The problem is it's Monaco and one of the few tracks left from days past yet the cars have outgrown the track or whatever and the races aren't very good from a passing perspective and reliability takes the tension away (although try telling that to Ricciardo...lol)

How about keeping it but not as a championship points race. Here's why..

1 Monaco is THE place where teams can woo the sponsors or potential sponsors. It's got the glamour and glitz of Cannes that the teams and F1 can show off. . It would be financial suicide to just drop it and Formula E will snap it up as their showcase event I assure you.

2 If it is a non-championship event you can play with the format. I still think there needs to be a race or possibly races but you can double down on qualifying. Have a couple of runs reversing the order and take a combined average or use the qualifying for 2 races. Use unlimited tires and since it is not a championship race, the drivers can take risks and the teams can do likewise with strategy

I firmly believe the race this year was compromised by the Mercs and Ferraris being unwilling to gamble on strategy hence the grained tires that they would not pit to change.

I appreciate the views of the traditionalists and the folks that want to remove it from the calendar. I'd be interested to hear what other format ideas people may have.

 

[Tylda]

It's not my argument

And it doesn't eliminate Pepper's argument. While his comment was surely a generalization, it's not far from the truth. Saying "I like it so your entire argument is invalid" is the same as saying "my grandma smoked 100 cigarrets per day and didn't die of cancer, so surely people don't die of cancer because of smoking habits" or saying "my sister is taller than most men, so of course men are not taller than women on average". Doesn't make sense, at all. It's an exception, not the rule.

And you said: "Younger people with no nostalgic connection just won't watch it." Hmm... Something is wrong here...

 

[michelforest]

It's time to go, stop pampering the rich and the stupid..

Pampering the rich and stupid is the essence of F1! Just spend a few hours on Crescent street in Montreal during Grand Prix week and you'll understand what I mean...

 

[michelforest]

If the fact that a race is boring is enough to remove a track from the calendar, then the FIA must also remove Abu Dhabi, Sochi and Shanghai...

 

[LEDzZzEPP]

The ONLY track of this style...the time go past & more vintage going to be this track, modern F1 is not made for this kind of track...yep, so here is a driver grand prix, fkn glamour of a perfect lap kissing the ''walls''!

 

[Pepper606]

I'm 16 and I love Monaco so your argument is invalid. It's just like Monza or Spa. F1 without this tracks is not F1 anymore.

No, you've missed the point: You've mentioned 2 great racing circuits there. The issue isn't about nostalgia etc. Something must be done to improve the excitement at Monaco.
It used to be brilliant, but it isn't now.
Alter the cars.

 

[Serge.M]

Monaco is a great package, sure the racing isn’t always great (gets awesome when it rains though) but it’s unique. I wouldn’t want to make it more like a race track, there’s already plenty of those on the calendar. Monaco is a place drivers race themselves against the walls as many over the years have found out. Anyone who has been there for a GP will know how awesome that weekend really is, I’m lucky enough to count myself among them.

No change needed

 

[Wojtek Baran]

I think maybe moving and redesigning novelle chicane would be great:
https://imgur.com/a/PrJoyhg
This will add another 195m to the straight after the tunnel, and could serve as a short, 300m DRS zone (red line starts when the track begins its downhill slope). This extra 195m of straight run down through Avenue JF Kennedy could also mean a safer braking zone - you won't have to brake downhill, you could brake later and from a higher speeds (finally 300+ at Monaco? ). I think from architectural point of view it's doable.

 

[Vlad-the-Impaler]

I'm gonna reiterate what others have said to a large extent here, but anyways... The race was pretty dull this year, but that's not that unusual. Monaco is almost always a procession behind the leader. However I think this year was especially bad for a combination of reasons, some new, some old:
-Cars have been too fast for Monaco with too much downforce since the early/mid 90s, meaning f1 has effectively outgrown the circuit over the last 20 years
-current regs mean cars are too heavy, too wide, too hard to follow and consequently too hard to pass. This only makes an already difficult situation at Monaco even worse
-One tyre manufacturer providing crappy compounds that fall apart and leave marbles offline making overtaking even more difficult
-An entire ruleset that encourages drivers to drive at 90 percent, something that takes away the jeopardy of driving flat out and risking crashing into the barriers, ultimately making the Monaco race even more processional.

The answer? Well in my opinion:
-Change the regs to create lighter, smaller, more agile cars that can follow one another more closely, thus aiding overtaking
-Get rid of the crappy fuel and tyre saving regs and give the drivers some incentive to push
-Once all of the above has been done, then allow other tyre manufacturers into the sport to create a tyre war
-and finally, maybe, just maybe, consider making some track changes at Monaco to provide at least one decent overtaking zone if possible (and yes, I know you've sort of got braking into the harbour chicane already, but still).

All only my opinion of course

Good points - I’m recommending you for a position on the FIA F1 group! Seriously though what you say is very valid - I’ve never understood why only one tyre manufacturer is permitted - well I do - money talks as they say.

 

[aldac]

I am not sure if today's F1 cars are the widest ever, it may not be so. I think Monaco is just Monaco, you drive on the limit and you make mistakes, that's the thrill of that race. I would not remove Monaco, just make F1 cars challenging to drive.

dito