Can Monaco stay on the F1 calendar post-2025?

Imagine that Max Verstappen had led all 78 laps of Formula 2-like pace in dominating the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix. What saved the weekend was Charles Leclerc’s emotional dream-sealing, wrapped in the tension of historical Ferrari failure here.

The home hero did all he could and more – changes in mentality and car set-up at critical times vital to his glorious victory. And the instant red flag removed any chance of a botched pitstop or strategy call thwarting him once again on the streets he knows so well.

PLUS: The two critical changes behind Leclerc finally breaking his Monaco F1 duck

Leclerc’s “ultimate dream” Monaco win gave Formula 1 a third feel good story of 2024 – following the lurid scandal of its start amid yet more Red Bull domination. Carlos Sainz’s remarkable post-appendectomy win and Lando Norris finally breaking his F1 duck kicked off the trilogy.

But Leclerc’s story can only happen once. That’s no matter what he goes on to achieve in the future here given he “had a weight on the shoulders for years now about the win in Monaco”, per Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur.

Take the eloquent emotion of his tale away and the 2024 Monaco GP was awful. Nothing happened after the first lap shunting and red flag tyre changes.

The gaps gambles might’ve enlivened the end, but they didn’t – largely thanks to Ferrari’s canny pace management compared to the Mercedes cars far behind. And these only finished 13 and 15 seconds down once George Russell had raised his pace on medium tyres that eventually did 75-laps and left the charging Verstappen without even a pass attempt whiff.

Russell provided short-lived tactical intrigue with his pace in fifth

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Nothing changed to cause this. The modern cars again arrived too big, the track is too narrow, our peak end theory-demanding culture is never satisfied. But the 2025 Monaco race is the last of the deal that was signed in 2022, and given the aim for smaller, nimbler cars is coming beyond that too, now marks the perfect time to ask what can possibly be done to improve the famous event’s racing spectacle.

After climbing “sure people were falling asleep” from his Mercedes for the last time here, Lewis Hamilton suggested “to find ways to spice it up, maybe mandatory three stops or something?”

Russell also had tyres in mind when this topic was put to him post-“tootling” around well adrift of the leaders earlier on Sunday afternoon. He argues “having the whole weekend on softs would solve a lot of problems”.

"It's something that we need to as a sport, with the promoter, look at how do we just introduce an overtaking opportunity.” Christian Horner

Red Bull boss Christian Horner again discussed the idea pitched in previous years to redo the final sector around the Swimming Pool complex on the misnomer “reclaiming land” point.

“I think it's something collectively F1 should look at because it's such a great place, there's so much history here, but everything evolves,” he added. “The cars are so big now; if you compare them to cars of 10 years ago, they're almost twice the size. So, it's something that we need to as a sport, with the promoter, look at how do we just introduce an overtaking opportunity.”

But away from the microphones people were thinking more radically. Sky Sports News reporter Craig Slater mused to me of a very much personally theoretical time trial idea replacing the race. Perhaps with cars setting off in reverse qualifying order for a five-lap blast to reward success in that session with the best track conditions.

“Tour de France-style,” he said as we watched Russell reflect on his barely-sweat-breaking efforts with the sun finally starting to dip behind the mountains to our backs at the top of this uniquely narrow paddock.

The top 10 finished in the same order as qualifying for the first time in F1 history

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

The overall smaller grandstand totals and the team motorhomes being crammed next to the harbour where Red Bull’s floats make it harder to gauge attendance levels for this event. But we noted how the grid didn’t feel quite as busy and chaotic as in previous years here, especially once the celebrity caravan had been led through the leading cars.

Plus, sources at various teams reported how from their perspective, a noticeable chunk of the sponsor business and schmoozing they’d previously be expected to conduct here is now taking place in Miami – F1’s other glitz-draped trade show event.

So, Monaco is already changing. Getting radical with its post-2025 future – because this race really is unlikely to go anywhere unless there’s another round of strained contract talks between Formula One Management and the Automobile Club de Monaco this time – isn’t all that outlandish.

The mandatory pitstops idea is a cheap and very F1 way of change. The obvious riposte is how the teams would inevitably all converge on the same strategy. And the one-off 2023 Qatar GP with this rule didn’t benefit from it.

PLUS: Monaco Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024

Only allowing soft tyre usage is also pressed-right-up-against-the-box thinking, with the same cunning team strategy counter. But it’s perhaps a better shout given Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll making a tunnel pass on Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu with a big grip and pace difference last Sunday.

Given how Monaco has already claimed much land from the sea – and is doing so on a much grander scale in front of the city’s Larvotto district – the layout alteration idea has legs. And it was already done in the 1980s in creating the Nouvelle chicane, but more so too when adjusting the pit complex 20 years ago.

But F1 would be wise to steer clear of reclaiming land unless it wants its already iffy sustainability promises to lose what credibility they have. The environmental argument in the climate crisis’ face is overwhelming. Plus, the track would likely have to be wider massively in the new overtaking areas to avoid a similar Imola issue on still-predictable racing spectacle.

Layout alterations are made difficult by the surrounding buildings and landscape, but land reclamation could change this

Photo by: Sauber

Purists look away, but a unique contest – time trial or otherwise – might be considered along the same lines as the anomalous Indianapolis 500 inclusions in the world championship’s infancy. But, fear not, sprint races are about as bold as F1 gets, format-wise...

Monaco already has a unique place on the calendar given the thrilling qualifying challenge and some would argue that a very dull race is a price worth paying for it. But F1 needs that battle to be much more 2023 than 2024 – as good as Leclerc and Oscar Piastri were against the clock on Saturday.

But as the race really is the only problem, going radical in a city where more is always better just might be the interest injection required.

Watch: F1 2024 Monaco GP Review – Leclerc Finally Breaks the Curse

Monaco is changing, and perhaps it would be wise to consider moving with the times

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool