Monaco GP Fiasco: F1's "Boring" Parade Sparks Driver Outcry
May 27 - As Charles Leclerc and Ferrari celebrated, the Formula 1 world was united in describing Sunday's Monaco GP as a strange and "boring" spectacle.
The spectacular lap 1 crash triggered a red flag that enabled the drivers to attach brand new tyres - and then drive around in a slow and unchanging procession.
"I should have brought my pillow," world champion Max Verstappen said on the radio.
Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur admits that, en route to victory, Monegasque Leclerc "could have driven three to four seconds faster".
And, yet, the big and heavy cars - on the tight and twisty streets - meant that the entire top 10 started and finished in exactly the same order.
"It has never been worse than that," Dutch commentator Olav Mol said on Ziggo Sport.
Oscar Piastri, who followed Leclerc home in P2, said: "It was the slowest race I've ever driven. Formula 2 must have been faster than us."
Mercedes' Toto Wolff admitted he also found himself in uncharted territory.
"I got myself a yoghurt and an espresso," said the Austrian. "I've never done that in 12 years."
Wolff's Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner said: "It's no longer a race when you slow down three or four seconds because the other car has no chance to pass you."
During a post-race interview with Viaplay, Verstappen joined the discussion with George Russell and told the Briton: "My God, that was awful. How boring was that?"
Russell replied: "They really need to change something for the Sundays here. Maybe compulsory pitstops." Verstappen playfully responded: "Or a compulsory nap.
"The hardest thing about the race was that after 20 laps I really had to go to the toilet."
F1 veteran Fernando Alonso thinks the situation was triggered by the relatively new phenomenon of F1 allowing the drivers to change tyres during a red flag.
"The only point of interest in racing in Monaco is the pitstops," said the Spaniard. "So we lost that. And if the rules compromise the race so much on certain circuits, maybe we need to re-open the debate about that.
"The current cars are also the worst for Monaco - bigger, heavier," Alonso added. "The F2 cars still have an overtaking option. And our tyres are too hard for Monaco."
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher agrees: "It's actually intended that the tyre breaks down at some point and overtaking becomes possible.
"What we saw today is dangerous for Formula 1," he told Sky Deutschland. "No one wants to see it and it's also difficult to commentate on. We need to see racing."
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The Monaco GP should switch to a Time Attack/Time Trial format without any race-like session, or only have the minimum lap amount for 100 km, like for sprints, but with a mandatory pit stop.
Drivers would at least push harder with less stress on components & tyres.
Btw, the interview pen thing went the other way around, i.e., George interrupted Max's interview.
At least at Imola there were passes with the pit stops!
What a debacle is F1 racing in Monaco. The circuit cannot be changed or upgraded to make it interesting, so it's time Monaco was relegated to history. It's the only circuit on the calendar that has been allowed for F1 to race without major track upgrade improvements!
True, although even this race ultimately had some on-track passes beyond lap 1 in the courtesy of Stroll, Bottas, Zhou, & Sargeant, albeit only thanks to massive tyre deltas.
I don't kniw why they continue to call Monaco the jewel in the crown for F1.
It was in the past but not now .
They need to find a way to extend the track and make an overtaking spot.
Otherwise even with the locatiob and history they will need to consider drpping Monaco.
The drivers have to use their exceptional skills to keep the car out of the barrier but as a viewing spectacle and a race it is just boring.
I have been there twice and I can recall David Coulthard chasing an Arrows around for 70 laps, could not pass. Ricciardo won the race with an ailing engine because nobisy could get past.
More or less the only viable way to extend the track would be to turn left before Portier for a little detour eastwards before making a right U-turn & eventually rejoin at Portier.
Another option could be turning leftwards before Massenet & rejoining at Casino corner or between that corner & Mirabeau.
What's new? Monaco has always been boring. Get over it, stupid entertainment generation. Go get your dopamine shots somewhere else.
Have respect for the level of skill and determination to drive that fast around a track without getting damaged.
I've been to the Monaco GP once. It's nice to see the cars drive around the very small country. Some things are just sacred in F1, and Monaco is one of them!
They need to eliminate the Nouvelle Chicane. Put the race back in the hands of the drivers!
Impossible simply because the approach speeds into Tabac would be too high for its non-existent runoff space.
You have no faith in the drivers, who are supposedly the world's best drivers!
As for run-off spaace, there are very few places at Monaco with run-off space. It would be a great test for the drivers!
Excessive safety hazards are simply too much in any case, & all corners with high approach speeds require at least decently large runoff area in case of a brake or any other failure, & even without the grandstand, the runoff space this would create at Tabac would be insufficient for the higher approach speeds.
Let the drivers show their skills!
Pre-1986 the drivers managed it well enough, so no reason why the drivers of today couldn't manage it.
Safety standars were a lot different in the 1980s, so largely apples to oranges comparison.
It's a long shot but, I propose to spice things up by requiring drivers to switch to the next team down in the pecking order BUT only as a one-off for this Monaco race alone. e.g. VER in Ferrari; LEC in McLaren; NOR in Mercedes; HAM in Aston Martin; Alonso in RB; etc.,
Wow, just Imagine the excitement!!!
the cars were half the size back in the eighties
They should have souped up go-carts for the Monaco race and other narrow street tracks.....would really be fun to see them go at it in smaller cars on that track, it's just too tight for the behemoth cars they have today.
What a great idea! They all started their racing in karts, so let's take them back to their beginnings in Super Karts and make it more entertaining with vehicles that can go two or three wide and allow passing on track!