F1 urged to improve overtaking chances at Monaco GP

Red Bull boss Christian Horner added his voice to those calling for ways to improve overtaking at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Formula One’s wide and heavy cars have almost nowhere to pass, and often follow each other around the tight and sinewy 3.3-kilometer (two-mile) street circuit.

“They’re so big now, arguably they’re too big to be racing around these streets because you can barely get two side by side,” team principal Horner said on Friday.

“Could we open up some areas that could potentially create at least an overtaking opportunity, and what would it [take] to achieve that? I think that’s something that Formula One is acutely aware of.”

F1’s iconic race has been part of the principality’s history since 1929 and remains a firm driver’s favorite; with huge status for sporting and historical reasons.

The late Ayrton Senna won Monaco a record six times; Michael Schumacher and Graham Hill did so five times each. Other multiple winners include Lewis Hamilton, Stirling Moss, Alain Prost, Juan Manuel Fangio — all F1 greats.

The race is arguably as much engrained in Monaco’s identity as Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier; as the famed casino, or Prince Albert’s grandiose palace perched high over the start-finish line.

Film and sports stars still flock to Monaco on race weekends, some dashing over from the nearby Cannes film festival. Filmmaker George Lucas, for example, has been a regular attendee over the years.

It’s the place to be seen for the rich and famous, with huge yachts bobbing around the harbor, glamor on display, and Champagne flowing.

“We race here because of the history, the heritage, and it’s a phenomenal venue. There’s a great deal of prestige in winning this race,” Horner said. “But to protect the next 70 years here, I think that there needs to obviously be some evolution.”

That’s mainly because the race often has an anti-climactic and processional feel to it.

There is almost nowhere to launch an attack, cars slow down heading into every anxiety-inducing turn close to a crash barrier, and strategy is reduced to a minimum.

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