The 2023 Components 1 Monaco Grand Prix is now behind us and the F1 circus shortly turned its consideration to the following races on the calendar. However as we at all times see with the occasion across the streets of Monte Carlo, there have been numerous questions on whether or not the observe ought to retain its place on the calendar.
That dialogue has been achieved to demise and there’s little or no contemporary floor to go over. So, till anybody within the decision-making ranges of the game decides to verify both manner, that Monaco query will stay unanswered.
The fact is that the status, historical past, and exclusivity of the principality will proceed to make it a lovely location for sporting occasions, not simply Components 1. For instance, the European Poker Tour has been visiting Monaco for the perfect a part of twenty years. Yearly, it sees 1000’s of the perfect skilled poker gamers come collectively to compete in varied occasions that cowl virtually the entire hottest poker variants, together with Texas Maintain’em, Omaha, and H.O.R.S.E. However along with providing a problem to proficient professionals, it stays a preferred occasion on the tour as a result of gamers get a style of the excessive life once they take a break from the tables, hopping on helicopter rides across the harbour, watching world-class circus occasions, and becoming a member of excursions across the Prince’s Palace.
Comparable occurs throughout the Components 1 weekend with lots of the world’s super-rich docking their superyachts within the harbour and an extended checklist of A-list celebrities wandering across the unique bars, golf equipment, and eating places that line the Monagasque streets.
The issue for F1 in recent times has been that the precise on-track motion is overshadowed by this pomp and pageantry, resulting in the Grand Prix itself being a moist squib. Nevertheless, the 2023 Grand Prix was truly an entertaining one with motion and jeopardy going down all through, even when the highest three ending positions had been a carbon copy of the beginning grid.
However that pleasure was introduced on, largely, by the opening of the heavens onto the observe, which created a strategic dilemma for the groups on whether or not to pit for moist tyres or try to courageous it out on slicks.
Had the race been a dry one, it’s possible we wouldn’t have seen the identical stage of pleasure, in order that leaves a query round what else might be achieved to boost the racing.
Make it Rain?
Whereas having the drivers carry out a rain dance on the grid forward of the Grand Prix is unlikely to attain quite a lot of puzzled appears to be like, the thought of creating races extra thrilling by randomly simulating precipitation just isn’t a wholly new one.
Again in 2011, the previous F1 supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, urged that race tracks ought to be fitted with sprinkler methods to create pretend rain within the hopes of selling overtaking. As you’d count on, it was shortly and extensively pooh-poohed, however it possible would yield ends in Monaco.
Nevertheless, it’s nonetheless simply pie-in-the-sky pondering, because it was again then, so maybe there’s one other manner.
Prolong the Monitor?
At the moment, Components 1 vehicles battle to overhaul in Monaco as a result of they’re not designed for the slim and twisty streets. There are additionally no locations that naturally lend themselves to overtaking; most notably, there’s a lack of lengthy straights that lead into heavy braking zones which causes processional races. The DRS zone on the pit straight can also be not lengthy sufficient, so an extended one might be helpful.
One answer might be to increase the circuit earlier than the tunnel. After dropping all the way down to the hairpin from On line casino Sq., the drivers may proceed driving in the direction of the French border, surpassing the present Portier nook, creating an extended(ish) straight and a hairpin earlier than the vehicles double again onto an extended run in the direction of and thru the tunnel.
This might create a much bigger braking zone into the Nouvelle Chicane the place we already see many overtaking makes an attempt. Alternatively, that nook might be eliminated to increase the DRS zone proper down the waterfront.
There could be security considerations to beat with a minimum of a few of these adjustments, however they tick all of the theoretical containers for what circuit attributes promote overtaking.
Change the Format
If the purists are adamant that the circuit ought to stay the identical and we shouldn’t attempt to play the function of Mom Nature, then another choice might be to vary the format of the weekend.
Components 1 is already doing this with its chosen Dash Weekends the place there’s a further race, so a particular Monaco format might be created to raised swimsuit the circuit.
Some concepts for this embody creating the choice for joker laps the place drivers get to take a shortcut a set variety of occasions throughout the race (one other Ecclestone concept), much like what we see in Rallycross. For instance, they might comply with the previous Components E observe format after flip one as an alternative of continuous up the hill.
This might assist drivers to overhaul once they’re caught behind a slower automobile and create extra strategic challenges for the groups.
Different choices may embody putting extra emphasis on qualifying, maybe by mandating tyre compounds in periods, making a shootout, and even combining a number of codecs and averaging out the outcomes.
Whereas all of those concepts could appear somewhat on the market, they might all assist to boost the weekend. In the event that they work, then the entire negativity in the direction of them would shortly fade away, securing Monaco’s place on the calendar for a lot of extra years.
