Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe
Autosport Plus

Roebuck: Why abandoning Monaco is so rewarding

As revered a challenge as the Monaco Grand Prix is, Formula 1's most famous race has "never been a race as such". The benefits of abandoning the event in favour of another grand spectacle are all too tempting

The Two Worlds Trophy they called it, and that - emphatically - is what it was. Run twice, in 1957 and '58, it was an attempt to stage a match race between Europe and the USA, and it must be said that the track, an oval taking in Monza's hallowed and long-defunct banking, was not exactly a layout calculated to favour the European contingent in its battle with the fabled Indy roadsters.

By any standards, the track was ferociously fast: at a time when pole for the Indianapolis 500 was in the vicinity of 140mph, in 1957 Tony Bettenhausen's Novi lapped the Monza bowl at over 177mph! With the exception of the Ecurie Ecosse D-type Jaguars - which, remarkably, came to Monza immediately after winning the Le Mans 24 Hours - the Europeans, citing safety concerns, withdrew from the event. It was not their shining hour.

Previous article The human cost of F1's 2021 vision
Next article How Formula 1 teams tackle Montreal's extreme braking demands

More from Nigel Roebuck

Archive: The flamboyant F1 ace who lost his best years at Ferrari

Archive: The flamboyant F1 ace who lost his best years at Ferrari

F1 Formula 1
Archive: The flamboyant F1 ace who lost his best years at Ferrari Archive: The flamboyant F1 ace who lost his best years at Ferrari
Archive: When F1's Italian GP no-overtaking proposal was rejected

Archive: When F1's Italian GP no-overtaking proposal was rejected

F1 Formula 1
Archive: When F1's Italian GP no-overtaking proposal was rejected Archive: When F1's Italian GP no-overtaking proposal was rejected
From the archive: How Williams's last F1 title challenge unravelled

From the archive: How Williams's last F1 title challenge unravelled

F1 Formula 1
From the archive: How Williams's last F1 title challenge unravelled From the archive: How Williams's last F1 title challenge unravelled
Autosport 70: How Mansell bested Senna in the greatest F1 Hungarian GP ever

Autosport 70: How Mansell bested Senna in the greatest F1 Hungarian GP ever

F1 Formula 1
Autosport 70: How Mansell bested Senna in the greatest F1 Hungarian GP ever Autosport 70: How Mansell bested Senna in the greatest F1 Hungarian GP ever
Autosport70: Senna, tragedy and the battle for Coulthard

Autosport70: Senna, tragedy and the battle for Coulthard

F1 Formula 1
Autosport70: Senna, tragedy and the battle for Coulthard Autosport70: Senna, tragedy and the battle for Coulthard
Autosport 70: The rise and fall of Ferrari's first great champion

Autosport 70: The rise and fall of Ferrari's first great champion

F1 Formula 1
Autosport 70: The rise and fall of Ferrari's first great champion Autosport 70: The rise and fall of Ferrari's first great champion
Grand Prix Gold: Australian GP 1986

Grand Prix Gold: Australian GP 1986

Plus
Plus
F1 Formula 1
Grand Prix Gold: Australian GP 1986 Grand Prix Gold: Australian GP 1986
The pre-Christmas pressure on Bottas and Vettel

The pre-Christmas pressure on Bottas and Vettel

Plus
Plus
F1 Formula 1
The pre-Christmas pressure on Bottas and Vettel The pre-Christmas pressure on Bottas and Vettel

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe