The Monaco Grand Prix is the jewel in F1’s crown, but you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise after the comprehensive kicking it received after 78 laps.
For a sport with a long and proud history, F1’s second-longest-serving venue was shown little love by some who should know better, in particular Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, two drivers who owe part of their legacies to victories in Monte Carlo.
Despite their seniority in the sport, after Daniel Ricciardo took the chequered flag in an impressively cool display of adaptive driving – he had lost 120 kilowatts of power early in the race after setting an all-time circuit record in qualifying 24 hours earlier, as described here earlier in the week – both went to town on the blue riband event.
“Thank God that’s over,” reigning world champion Hamilton said over team radio. “That was the most boring race I’ve ever participated in.”
He later added that it was “a super-unexciting race for everyone” and endorsed a variety of solutions, ranging from changing the layout from the current historic profile to enforcing more pit stops or modifying the weekend format – though the Briton was also keen to emphasise his love of the event.
(GEPA pictures/Daniel Goetzhaber)
His former teammate and two-time title winner Fernando Alonso was less measured, however, and gave the grand prix both barrels after retiring his McLaren two-thirds of the way through the race.
“Probably it’s the most boring race ever in Formula One,” he said. “I think probably we need to give something to the fans at the end of the race to pay a little bit back their ticket.
“Without a safety car, without yellow flags … I think the sport needs to think a little bit about the show, because this is very disappointing.”
His Monaco-bashing continued on Twitter, where he tweeted, “Ready to watch and enjoy the RACE of the day”, referring to the then upcoming Indianapolis 500.
Of course you couldn’t find two races more different than the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. One is run on the narrow and winding streets of an old European city, the other a giant banked amphitheatre designed only for speed.
It is a pointless comparison, but it does serve to underline an ongoing tension between various sections of the sport about what makes a good race.
The debate roared into life earlier in the year when the opening round of the IndyCar season returned a stratospheric 366 overtaking manoeuvres, though I wrote here that passing figures alone are not indicators of a great race. Formula One in any case is never going to meet such boggling metrics, with an average of fewer than 25 passes per race since 1990.
However, even F1’s lower average doesn’t take in account the difficulty of passing in Monaco, which was again illustrated by the six successful passes executed throughout the 102-minute race – though even this was more than the five that featured in Australia.
But the overtaking count is irrelevant when it comes to Monte Carlo, with the city streets offering a spectacle of an entirely different nature.
The principality is unrivalled as a vantage point for witnessing the raw fury of a Formula One car and the immense skill of the drivers who tame them, and that’s because nowhere is the combination of man and machine more on the edge than on the streets of Monte Carlo.
The ratio of risk and reward is distorted in Monaco, where the suffocating walls threaten to end even the fastest driver’s weekend – Max Verstappen knows this well – while the promise of becoming part of history at one of the world’s most famous races tempts the competitors to push the envelope only further.
It’s an intoxicating combination – just ask Fernando Alonso after he won his first Monaco Grand Prix in 2006.
“This is a special place for any driver to win a race,” he said, “for the history, for what it represents to Formula One and because it is such a big challenge to get through the race with no mistakes.”
Arguments to change the layout or enforce unusual one-off rules or formats to enliven the race are beside the point – the unlikeliness of the Monaco Grand Prix and the drivers’ desire to master it for the personal challenge and historical relevance is the spectacle all in itself.
There’s got to still be room for that in Formula One.
woodart
Guest
yes, very good point simoc. its more a drive to avoid mistakes and maintain position ,than a race. narrow the cars down(not difficult to have a narrow f1 car for specific tracks).
Simoc
Guest
The problem at Monaco was that most of the drivers weren't trying to pass. They needed to get to the finish with one pit stop as you can't afford to lose track position. So there was Lance Stroll in a Williams setting the fastest lap time half way through the race and lapping 1 sec faster than anyone else at that stage. So Ricciardo , up to 25% down on power, was able to stay in front. That wouldn't occur at any other F1 race. That is why the drivers were saying it was boring. The cars are wider and quicker than previously. So they were cruising around 1 plus seconds slower than they normally would, to preserve the tyres and position if needed.
Steve
Guest
Monaco is the one race that should never ever be removed from the calendar. While some races may be a procession, this Grand Prix just has that special feel about it, the history, the location, the smell of money in the air, the beautiful people, the famous people, its the one race that every Formula 1 driver wants to win and have ticked off on their resume's. There is just something special about this place every year, that makes it worth keeping, regardless of the sometimes, boring races. Its everyone's bucket list race, its certainly mine.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
I've never been that big on oval racing, but there's no doubt it's seriously challenging. Maybe it looks easy — not unlike how F1 looks easy — but driving through traffic at those speed son the edge of grip is pretty crazy.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Indeed, the wider cars and stronger aerodynamics are having all the negative predicted effects. Next year's aero changes might ameliorate some of these effects, but the wideness of the cars will obviously remain the same, so we'll see. Thanks for the comment! Exactly right about Ricciardo — that's what made his race so impressive. Keeping the tyres up to temperature and brakes cool but also throwing his car around fast enough to counter the loss of power is just immense. It also speaks to the quality of that car too. I don't know that F1 needs to consider any dramatic changes, at least not in the short term. Monaco is never going to be like the other races, and the main attraction will always be qualifying. Maybe a mandatory second stop would help because drivers would be able to push harder knowing they didn't have to stretch tyre life, but I don't know that it'd create strategy differentiation — I'd predict the cars would all just pit in the same window to cover each other off.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
Exactly right. Safety cars and mixed weather also tend to make the race less predictable. And tyres, right — which is why I always feel for Pirelli, because they just can't win. Last year the tyres were too hard so it was an easy one-stop, this year they were too delicate so they had to slow down to make it a one-stop.
Michael Lamonato
Expert
A very good point!
Michael Lamonato
Expert
That's a bit strong, I think. Spa hasn't changed that much since the 1980s, before which the drivers boycotted it because it was extremely dangerous. A track the size of the original Nurburgring was always likely to go the same way as speeds increased. The Hockenheimring, to be fair, was changed for a number of reasons, a major one being that it was expensive to maintain. I believe local environmental groups pressured for the disused section to be ripped up, which is why it's now a forest. Is F1 ruined because of these changes? I don't think so. There are plenty of 'drivers tracks' still on the calendar if the test is tracks drivers enjoy being challenged by — Monaco is one of them.
popper
Guest
Yawn. If you don't really have to slow much for a corner, it's still boring as bat doodoo.
popper
Guest
Yawn. If you don't really have to slow much for a corner, it's still boring as bat doodoo.
Nick
Roar Guru
Take a corner at 370kph...
Sam
Guest
Formula 1 was ruined years ago when 'true' drivers tracks like Old Nurburgring,Spa,and Hockenheim were severely altered for 'the viewer' and for Ecclestone's and Tilke's greed in scraping as much money as possible.
Damo
Guest
I also don't remember Hamilton complaining when he was winning it, or next round in Canada where the Mercs should win by half a lap.
nickbrisbane
Guest
What could be more boring than watching cars circling at the Indie 500!
marfu
Guest
Thanks Michael. It is a shame that the cars seem to have outgrown the track even with the new softer tyres as it was still only a one stopper. I was amazed that there was no full safety car as I was expecting at least a couple. I was also surprised that even with Ricciardo unable to deploy his KERS power, Vettel didn't seem to be able to or want to have a red hot go at him as he was probably saving his tyres. Either way it was a masterly drive by Dan which I hope will be career defining. I don't really know how to improve this race except that they could maybe make them do a minimum of 2 pit stops so as to try to invoke the overcut or undercut into race strategy.
anon
Roar Pro
Monaco has always been a procession. I remember Coulthard in 2001 being stuck behind a much slower Arrows for 40-odd laps. Always been very hard to pass. Slightly easier in recent years with differing tyre compounds.