Monaco’s legendary Formula 1 circuit has been the subject of much alarmist speculation about whether the race will be held this year. It will still take place this weekend, but its future remains uncertain.
Like the French Grand Prix, the Monaco Grand Prix is on the chopping block. The first one will take place from July 22 to 24, but it will also sign the end of its contract with F1, leaving the race once every two years in the calendar.
Until then, the original Grand Prix, all European, resisted and remained on the racing calendar. But the much-anticipated Monaco Grand Prix will be at the end of its contract with Formula 1 on Sunday night, with no certainty about next year. The promoters of the event and the championship are starting their negotiations in the last year of the contract, so the discussions must be going on.
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Almost a century old, the Monaco Grand Prix has become the most popular event for teams and their sponsors. But this year, other arguments in favor of new circuits have appeared, creating novelty and improvements. If this year the cars are different: heavier for more overtaking and therefore more spectacle for the spectators and TV viewers, this is almost impossible in Monaco. Indeed, the narrow streets of the city do not allow this kind of maneuvers that could create accidents.
Zak Brown, McLaren‘s team manager, sums up the situation well: “Monaco needs to get up to speed with the other Grands Prix in commercial terms, and also work on adapting its track because, with our cars getting bigger, the race is more difficult.”
The new features
Monaco is also facing competition. Indeed, new to the calendar, Miami hosted its first Grand Prix, to the delight of the drivers and the many spectators who came. All in excess and treated as one of the biggest events in the United States, the new Grand Prix of Miami has put a blow of old to the other events of the calendar last May. All the venues of the 21 other events in the current championship also realized that Las Vegas would be a new tornado next year, pushing the media boundaries and setting new standards.
In Abu Dhabi, the new overtaking zones created and the epic finale of 2021 between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton finished convincing everyone of the interest of new circuits and improvements. Last weekend, the Barcelona circuit, in an effort to be in line with the most modern circuits on the calendar, saw its layout undergo several changes aimed at improving driver safety and the spectacle offered. As a result, at the finish of the race, the drivers discovered a brand new podium, a structure based on the design of the Catalan track, while a giant 45m2 screen showed images of the race during the podium ceremony.
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Front page photo: © Formule 1
