Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has defended the Monaco Grand Prix’s position on the Formula 1 calendar amid calls for it to be scrapped for the lack of overtaking opportunities.
Given the size of the Formula 1 cars in the new era of regulations, the narrow street track around Monaco means that it’s near impossible to get past rivals with wheel-to-wheel action.
While this year’s Monaco Grand Prix weekend did have some exciting moments, they were mainly during the hotly contested qualifying session, where Max Verstappen narrowly secured a P1 starting position in a last lap attempt, beating Fernando Alonso by 0.008 seconds.
During the race, the action was fairly limited until rain began to fall, sparking a dash into the pits as drivers tried to capitalise on the opportunity to gain an advantage through their team strategy.
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The frustration from drivers and fans alike has left some suggesting that, despite being one leg of the ‘Triple Crown of Motorsport’, Monaco should be ditched from the calendar in favour of a more exhilarating race.
“It’s a must-have race on the calendar and you accept the compromises of the circuit because of the history,” Horner told Mirror Sport.
“But that’s not to say you can’t improve things for the future and we need to be looking 10 years down the road.
“The cars are so big now you can barely get them around the circuit, let alone side-by-side. That’s something Formula 1 needs to think about for the future. Even in the Formula 3 race earlier there was no overtaking, or in Formula 2, and those cars are a lot lighter and pretty agile.
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“What we need to look at, is there a way to generate at least one overtaking area on the circuit? But it’s unimaginable to think of Formula 1 without the Monaco Grand Prix. All the races have the same points but some of them just mean that bit more – and this is one of them. This is the one you want to be seen winning.”
Red Bull took victory last weekend in Monaco, continuing their 100% win record this season, as they continued to stamp their dominance in the sport.
Looking untouchable this year, Verstappen appears set to continue their string of victories, topping the time sheets in FP1 and FP2 around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.