Four Ways to Save the Spectacle of the F1 Monaco Grand Prix

• Monaco is expected to stay on the F1 calendar beyond 2022, but there is no doubt that somehow Monaco needs to evolve not just to survive but subsequently thrive.

• Monaco’s Grand Prix has always been processional, has always been problematic for racing.

• Formula 1 should leverage the history of the race and show off its own rich heritage.

Formula 1’s pursuit of new street venues in destination cities, its eagerness to reduce Monaco’s anachronistic commercial arrangements, and Monaco’s own pandemic-enforced absence in 2020, means the principality’s event is no longer sacrosanct.

That was an unthinkable proposition a decade ago.

Monaco is expected to stay on the F1 calendar beyond 2022, but there is no doubt that somehow Monaco needs to evolve not just to survive but subsequently thrive if its status as one of motorsport’s crown jewels is to remain intact into its second century.

Monaco’s Grand Prix has always been processional, has always been problematic for racing, and those issues have been accentuated in recent years with Formula 1 cars becoming faster, wider and longer.

Here's a few potential ideas to try improve Monaco’s spectacle.

Don’t Be Afraid to Change the Circuit

Monaco’s layout is still traceable to the version that was first used back in 1929. But the circuit has evolved, sometimes naturally, sometimes enforced due to the construction of new architecture.

The "Swimming Pool" chicane was introduced in 1973 while the current Nouvelle Chicane layout was only implemented in 1986. The last tweak was in 2015, when the exit of Swimming Pool was slightly opened up.

Given Monaco’s geography wholesale changes are unrealistic, particularly given that areas of land are required for ancillary aspects such as the paddock and broadcast center. There are also access points to consider in and around the event. But there are sufficient alternative roads to at least trial, or to experiment with, particularly around the back end of the circuit towards the Larvotto district that could create a couple of straights and a hairpin.

At worst, it doesn’t work and makes no impact. At best it provides drivers with an additional challenge, new corners to tackle, and may create extra opportunities to race.