F1 Drivers Want to Save Monaco Grand Prix

• The president of the Automobile Club De Monaco guarantees the Monaco Grand Prix will continue on, although signatures still are not on the dotted line.

• "I don't think you can replace Monaco," defending F1 champ and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen said.

• "I think Monaco is extremely special. It has the history also behind it," said Alpine driver Esteban Ocon.

Formula 1's contract to stage the Monaco Grand Prix expires at the end of this season, but the drivers say the race needs to stay on the F1 calendar, at all costs.

“I don't think you can replace Monaco,” defending F1 champ and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen said during Friday’s press session at the Miami Grand Prix, which runs tomorrow. “Monaco has such a history. Of course it takes time to build that. And also, I mean, (Miami) is completely different to Monaco. There’s a lot more space here and the whole atmosphere is different. Different kind of culture as well. So yeah, you have to find a middle way between these kind of things—Monaco and of course, permanent race tracks.”

In March, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali inferred Monaco could be on the chopping block when its current contract with F1 expires this year. But contracts are also expiring for races with France, Belgium, and Mexico City.

“There are some promoters who have expiring agreements, and probably some of the current grands prix will no longer be part of the calendar,” Domenicali threatened. “Others will remain but in a different form, such as rotating between different tracks.”

Alpine driver Esteban Ocon on Friday agreed with Verstappen, calling Monaco "extremely special. It has the history also behind it. And it's one way to race that you don't have anywhere else. You really need to qualify and the race is very difficult to overtake or you need to take a risk. So for us it's completely different."

Michel Boeri, president of the Monaco Grand Prix organizing group Automobile Club De Monaco (ACM), recently threw cold water on Domencali’s threat.

“It was suggested Liberty Media’s demands were too excessive for Monaco and the grand prix would no longer be held,” Boeri told French magazine Auto Hebdo. “That’s not true. We are still in talks with them and we must now make it concrete by signing a contract. I can guarantee you that after 2022, the grand prix will continue to take place. I don’t know if the contract will be three or five years, but that’s a detail.”

Still, signatures are not yet on the dotted line for the iconic race, which has been held every year since 1955, with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alfa Romeo driver Valterri Bottas joined in the chorus to keep the Monaco Grand Prix. "It's so nice to come to these events and they're amazing events. And yeah, in the future as well, the more the better, I think. But Monaco is still always going to be in Monaco and that's because of the history and it's a different place anyway.”

Lastly, Haas Racing driver Kevin Magnussen’s observations were short and to the point: “Nothing more to add. I love Monaco.”

Follow Autoweek contributor Jerry Bonkowski on Twitter @JerryBonkowski