The Monaco Grand Prix is a processional shitshow that isn’t worth watching. The narrow streets and tight corners of the principality’s once-blue riband event are ill served by the ever longer and wider specifications of car mandated by Formula 1 in the modern era. Passing is next to impossible, so Monaco is boiled down to a single qualifying session to find any excitement whatsoever. Some of the best drivers of all time have won at Monaco, but it’s well past time for the race to be retired from the calendar. Unfortunately for everyone, F1 just renewed its contract with Monaco for another six years.
There have only been 101 on-track overtakes at the Monaco Grand Prix in the last ten years. An average of 10.1 passes per year? You’re watching a parade.
The one nice piece of the Monaco pie is that following the 2026 season the race will be moved away from its traditional Memorial Day Weekend slot into the first weekend of June. That’s a boon for racing fans who don’t want to spend an entire Sunday watching Monaco, the Indianapolis 500, and the Coca Cola 600 all in the same day. It also means that intrepid drivers like Fernando Alonso, who has had to skip out on Monaco in order to participate in the most prestigious race in the world before, won’t need to miss a round of the championship anymore to pursue their Triple Crown dreams. June is a better date for Monaco, but the best date remains none at all.
The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix saw the top ten racers finish the race in exactly the same positions they left the grid two hours earlier. It’s a boring nightmare for racers and fans alike. I’ve attended the Indianapolis 500 for the last three years, and will probably continue the tradition for many more years into the future, because it’s a track and event that promotes extremely good racing, excellent passing, and exciting finishes. I wouldn’t fly to Monaco during race weekend if I was paid to go. What was once the coolest race in the game is now completely washed.