Monaco Hoping for Late Rush of Fans

Monaco Grand Prix organisers are hoping for a late rush of Formula One fans after slow ticket sales for this year's showcase race.

Seats for Sunday remained available on Friday at most prices, ranging from 50 to 420 euros, for what has long been billed as the social highlight of the motor racing season.

Jean Claude Riccoboni of the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) said 10 percent of the 25,000 seats and 12,000 standing positions remained unsold in the face of what he estimated to be the weakest demand for a decade.

"Last year we sold out faster than any other year," said Riccoboni. "We sold all the Sunday tickets one or two months before the race. People now are waiting to the last minute."

The Monaco Grand Prix has been likened to a high-speed traffic jam, given the near-impossibility of overtaking on the street circuit, but last year's race was one of the most heavily watched of the season.

The bigger television audience was largely due to Monaco following Austria, where Ferrari caused outrage by ordering Brazilian Rubens Barrichello to move over and let World Champion Michael Schumacher win.

Riccoboni said various factors were to blame for the falloff, notably the state of the global economy.

Monaco, the main race for sponsors and dealmakers but never a cheap option, has suffered even if the streets are still filled with Ferraris and the harbour packed with some of the biggest and most luxurious yachts in the world.

But taxi drivers say there are fewer visitors around and some residents have struggled to let apartments for what is normally one of the busiest weeks of the year. The headlines in the local paper this week have been dominated by the relegation from the French first division of AS Monaco, the principality's high-flying soccer club, for debts estimated at up to $102 million.

"It's the economic climate. If you're the boss of a multinational company, there isn't the money to bring guests down in the numbers you used to," said one team boss.