Why time isn't up on Monaco's place on the F1 calendar

OPINION: The latest Monaco Grand Prix may have split opinion about the race action and its place in modern Formula 1, but it cannot be ignored as a unique challenge that provides risks and opportunities for drivers and teams in equal measure

Jonathan Noble May 27, 2021, 9:40 AM

Upd: Jun 1, 2021, 2:57 PM

The Monaco Grand Prix is well known for never really delivering good racing.

The tight and twisty track, and current wide, heavy, aero-sensitive cars and temperature critical tyres that we have in Formula 1 are a perfect combination for resulting in a train of drivers following each other for two hours on a Sunday afternoon.

Each year (with the odd exception) we get a procession, and each year the questions begin to get thrown up about whether or not Monaco deserves its slot on the calendar? The critics argue that F1 would be far better off racing at places that give us overtaking and a greater spectacle for fans...

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Author Jonathan Noble

Jonathan Noble is Motorsport.com’s Formula 1 editor. Having graduated from University of Sussex Jonathan worked for sports news agency Collings Sports reporting on F1, F3, touring cars and other sports, with articles appearing in The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Autosport and other publications. In 1999 he moved to Haymarket Publishing to become a senior editor at Autosport Special Projects, and one year later he became Autosport’s grand prix editor. In 2015 he moved to Motorsport Network, becoming the F1 editor for Motorsport.com. He is also a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and sits on the FIA Media Council.

Jonathan has won multiple awards for journalism - in 1991 he was the winner of the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Sir William Lyons’ Award for young journalists, in 2010 he was awarded the Outstanding Individual accolade for consumer journalism in the Haymarket wards, in 2011 he won Haymarket’s Scoop of the Year, and in 2018 he was awarded a prestigious Medaglia d’Oro at the Lorenzo Bandini Awards for his contribution to F1 journalism.