The 2022 Monaco Grand Prix was one of the most exciting races in the current Formula One season. The strategic fight between Ferrari and Red Bull over when to deploy the dry Pirelli tyres had seismic consequences that may even change whoever wins the world championship.
And the nailbiting last few laps that saw the leading four cars running within milliseconds of each other ensured viewers stayed glued to their TVs until the very last lap. Yet the iconic Monte Carlo circuit has no contract signed for 2023 meaning its place in F1 is under threat. But should Formula One continue racing at Monaco?
It's hard to imagine F1 without thinking of the annual "jewel in the crown" Grand Prix event. The luxury yachts, tuxedos, and one-off helmets with diamonds make the coverage around the race feel all very 007, don't they?
However, more often than not, the Grand Prix itself does not live long in the memory. Last year's event had a single on-track overtake, and those casual viewers that only tune in for a crash had a tight wheel nut on Valtteri Bottas' front-right Pirelli-adorned wheel as the sole retirement. Compelling viewing it was not.
If we're honest, even 2022's race wouldn't have been memorable if the pre-race downpour fell two hours later. A wet Grand Prix is almost always great to watch, and the narrow Monaco streets add further jeopardy to the low-grip conditions. But, as we saw in the latter half of the race when Fernando Alonso fancied himself as a train conductor with half the grid following him, a dry Circuit de Monaco is not an overtaking racetrack.
Although there's nothing wrong with a race without passes, there needs to be some skill from a front-running car's defensive tactics. Covering off the inside line before a corner or making a rival dirty up their Pirelli tyres down a straight is like watching a football team defend a 1-0 lead in the final 10 minutes while the opposition bombards them with corners and free kicks.
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That's not the type of racing we see at a Monaco Grand Prix. Unless the racers make a mistake, which is relatively rare from 20 of the most gifted drivers on the planet, the television coverage might as well be filming a Scalextric track. Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have some eleven world championships between them. Even they couldn't pass Alonso's Alpine car, despite the Spanish driver deliberately driving 3-seconds a lap slower than necessary.
Casting your mind back a little earlier in the 2022 race proves the point, too. Hamilton had the intermediate tyres on his Mercedes and was scrapping with Esteban Ocon, whose Alpine ran with full wet Pirellis. Of course, there would be an overtake on any other racetrack with the same drying track conditions within a couple of corners. Not at Monaco, though, as Ocon held on lap after lap.
I am all for tradition, and the podium ceremony on the leafy pit straight with the Prince of Monaco handing out a trophy after the brass band plays below is as regal as F1 ever gets. However, is that enough to justify the circuit's continued presence on the racing calendar? I wouldn't say so.
Other so-called classic venues litter the sport, like our own Silverstone, for example, or Monza and Spa-Francorchamps – all there in the first F1 season back in 1950. We only consider Monaco different because of its preposterous street circuit setting. However, I didn't miss it in the pandemic-hit 2020 season, and I wouldn't miss it if it's not renewed for 2023 and beyond.
Maybe time would change my mind; nostalgia is a hell of a thing, after all. And I'm sure I'd be wondering how the new 18-inch Pirelli tyres and 2022 aerodynamic regulations would fare on the Monte Carlo streets if Formula 1 removed it. And, equally, if I saw a Monaco weather forecast for a late-May Sunday that predicts drizzle all day, I'm sure I'd feel disappointed F1 wasn't going to be racing there.
So my radical proposal would be to follow in the footsteps of other world-famous sporting events like the Olympics and the football and rugby World Cups. Turn Monaco into the limited edition Grand Prix that F1 visits every four or so years rather than the annual procession we've grown accustomed to. It's only on that middle ground that I believe the jewel in F1's crown could finally reclaim some of its old sparkle.