The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix: A Processional Race to Remember
The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix has left Formula 1 fans and drivers alike wondering what went wrong. For the first time in the championship’s history, the top 10 drivers finished in the exact same position they started, making it the most processional race in Formula 1 history.
The highlight of the day was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finally won his home race after years of heartbreak. However, for the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, the race was a dire event. Championship leader Max Verstappen, who finished sixth, was heard on the radio saying, “F— me, this is so boring. I should have brought my pillow!“
“It was a very static race. The top 10 is as it started. … The red flag effectively killed the race, because everybody just was going to run to the end.” – Christian Horner, Red Bull boss
The struggles of drivers like Verstappen and Hamilton’s teammate George Russell, who were operating well below the limit of their cars, were evident throughout the race. Russell told Mercedes, “At this stage, we gain nothing from driving fast,” admitting that they were just trying to get their tyres to the end of the race.
Williams driver Alex Albon, who claimed his team’s first points of the season in ninth, was stuck behind RB’s Yuki Tsunoda for the entire contest. “It’s annoying because he had pace, he had so much pace,” Albon said about Tsunoda. “I was like, we can all manage, I’m happy to manage. We don’t need to manage this much. We were managing so much. I was like, ‘Man, I could get out and drive my Vespa around here.’“
Albon suggested that the rule about changing tyres under a red flag needed to be looked at in the future. “We need to figure [something] out. Or maybe if it’s a Lap 1 red flag maybe have a mandatory pit stop or something.“
The growing size of F1 cars combined with the narrow streets of Monte Carlo made for a processional Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday. It’s an issue that the sport needs to address, and some drivers are already calling for changes to the format or circuit.
Verstappen and Russell joked about the race, suggesting mandatory pit stops, refuelling, or even a toilet break to liven up the event. While there was a tongue-in-cheek element to their suggestions, the prospect of a format or circuit tweak for the next Monaco Grand Prix surely has to be considered.
The fact that the pace did pick up toward the end of the race highlights another issue with Monaco. The narrow streets and ever-growing size of F1 cars have made overtaking increasingly difficult.
There is a prevailing school of thought in some corners of the paddock that the sport can always have dull Sunday races at the Monaco Grand Prix so long as Saturday’s qualifying event is standout. And, as noted ahead of the week, the spectacle of one flat-out lap in Monaco is still one of the greatest things you can see in modern Formula One.
Whether that is enough for everyone remains to be seen. One thing is certain, though – the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix has left a lot to be desired, and the sport needs to take a hard look at what went wrong and how to improve the spectacle of the championship’s most famous race.
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