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

[Gringo]

It seems to me that its not the track, but the tires that created a strange strategy this year. Almost impossible to pass with any car dimensions in the past, but this year it was extraordinarily BORING due basically to the unnatural rules of today.

Monaco was special because of its (used to be) extreme challenge to the driver. Even if the race was decided in qualifying in previous years we could still marvel at the skill required by the drivers as they pushed flat out for the duration.

This year the winning car had a broken power unit! Hats of to RIC as he managed all of the issue to win... but several seconds off the pace for 78 laps is not racing in any sense.

 

[guidofoc]

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.

 

[bm91]

The real problem is about the cars:

• Too much aero downforce.
• They can't run close each other.
• Engines sounds bad and are too complex.
• Too reliable.
• Too easy to drive.

There's no surprise that F1 races (especially Monaco) are more boring nowadays.

 

[Steve Worrell]

A suggestion I made to my friend the other day was make it a mid-season time trial event. Over the course of say 4 runs the quickest aggregate time wins. Something like that anyway.

I would hate to lose Monaco from the calendar but the race is boring.

 

[Miguel Muñiz]

Absolutely not, it's time for F1 to move this F1 and return to what it always was.

 

[Tylda]

Was the race that boring? Seriously.
I didn't see much, maybe up to lap 10 or so.
I played a game and then had a nap...
A very special effort is needed to generate interest in this race.
Younger people with no nostalgic connection just won't watch it.
Jeez, I'm 50 and even I didn't watch it!!

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.

 

[Amanda]

I'm 16 and I love Monaco so your argument is invalid

lmao

Younger people always amuse me.

 

[Kevin Bradley]

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

 

[Erwin Greven]

lmao

Younger people always amuse me.

But he eliminates your argument.

 

[Shad3R]

• Too reliable.

Tell that to the 3 years of Mclaren Honda

 

[Cote Dazur]

No, don’t touch Monaco. Their is plenty of other bland track out there, this unique and iconic venue is one of the last with personality and character.

 

[Neils on Wheels]

I don't think much has really changed. 20 years ago it was very difficult to overtake. I watched the Classic Monaco this year and the races were processions even when it was pretty clear the driver behind was quicker. So I'd suggest its not even aero that's to blame. Its the layout.

Hey with the amount of aero they have i wonder when we get some circuits that go upside down.

 

[Andrew Harper]

Monaco will always be on the F1 calendar as long as there is F1. I suppose in an odd way it's cool that it's practically the same layout since the very first race and that's something unique.

As mentioned by others, I've been watching F1 since about '90 and every race there is a procession. The only times the races have been "exciting" have been when it's rained for example, and in those cases it's more down to crashes rather than passes or racing.

If it wasn't for Murray getting all excited on the BBC I probably wouldn't have watched any of them!

From a business point of the view, it's where most of the deals are done. It's where all the sponsors want to be taken and be seen. It's the Crown Jewel of the calendar so it will never disappear.

Unfortunately it also has issue of F1 glamour being attached to it. I've had friends who've been to the GP and they loved it, not because of the racing but just because it's "F1 in Monaco" and it was a glamorous experience and they got a nice holiday out of it.

Funny, it would never happen but I would love to see the Indycar's around Monaco. They seem to be able to race around circuits that in theory you just shouldn't. I bet they could put on a better show than the F1 cars.

 

[Amanda]

But he eliminates your argument.

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.

 

[NL-Jos]

Let's build this
https://goo.gl/images/YxQF1c

 

[Celestiale]

Either change or move on. The only interesting thing on the Monaco weekends is the Qualifying. Baku shows perfectly that a city circuit doesn't have to be boring (obviously hard to build something similar in Monaco)

 

[Diogo Goetz Brand]

My father (Being Brazilian) used to follow F1 back in the Senna days, and he always said that the Monaco Grand Prix was his least favorite race of all. So it wasn't exciting even back then (Unless something unusual happened like rain or a puncture for Mansell) and it won't become interesting now. If F1 keeps it it's just because of its heritage, but don't expect it to ever be interesting.

 

[Diogo Goetz Brand]

I just can't understand one thing: Why the hell are people blaming the width of the cars for the lack of overtaking? Wider cars give more mechanical grip which is essential for overtaking, and up until the 90's the cars were as wide if not wider than today and that didn't keep anyone from overtaking, actually, when they made the cars narrower it made no difference at all. Seriously, go make some research before saying stupid crap.

 

[Fanapryde]

Move to Macau....
Seriously, Monaco once a year is OK.
It's the actual F1 cars that don't fit well...

 

[LeBlur]

I just can't understand one thing: Why the hell are people blaming the width of the cars for the lack of overtaking? Wider cars give more mechanical grip which is essential for overtaking, and up until the 90's the cars were as wide if not wider than today and that didn't keep anyone from overtaking, actually, when they made the cars narrower it made no difference at all. Seriously, go make some research before saying stupid crap.

The cars have so much aero, they don't behave well when close together, this track is very narrow and the cars only have a few spots wide enough to even squeeze through. Who is saying uninformed stupid crap?