F1’s new Monaco deal has just increased the stakes

Few sporting events come closing to matching the excitement of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

It is the ultimate test of a Formula 1 driver; navigating the twisty streets of Monte Carlo, particularly in these current oversized cars, knowing the slightest brush with the barrier is likely to end in disaster.

However, Saturday afternoon is where the fun usually stops, as Sundays are a dull procession due to the lack of overtaking. The celebrated jewel in the F1 crown has undoubtedly lost some of its lustre.

The Monaco GP was also the race where the big-money deals were done. Lucrative sponsorships brokered at the Cafe de Paris Monte-Carlo or on board one of the opulent yachts, yet those handshakes are now done in Miami and Las Vegas, where F1 has catered for those opportunities.

Rather like the F1 cars themselves on the narrow track, there is a feeling perhaps the series has outgrown the footprint of Monte Carlo.

It all feels rather shoe-horned into a tired space that was adequate before the supersized motorhomes, vastly inflated number of team members and increase in spectators.

The Principality is doing an impressive job at reclaiming land for expensive real estate, but the Automobile Club de Monaco is unwilling to make amendments to the circuit to accommodate the swollen championship.

Rather like Monaco itself, space is of a premium when it comes to a spot on the F1 calendar.

Currently limited to 24 races, competition for a place in the schedule is high and accounts for why Stefano Domenicali says the championship is close to agreeing the concept of a band of rotating European races, mainly because the current fees for long-term deals are beyond the reach of most of the European promoters.

Which is why handing Monaco such a lengthy deal goes against the grain of Liberty Media’s running of F1 – unless there is a substantial host fee to remain on the calendar.

The Monaco deal therefore will represent a new benchmark figure to remain a permanent fixture on the calendar for the foreseeable future.

Those who cannot afford to stump up for consecutive years can take the second-rate option of joining a rotating band of races.

It makes sense for F1 and has worked in the past with varying degrees of success to host a European Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W15

Photo by: Erik Junius

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