Horner Joins Hamilton As He Calls For Change To Monaco Grand Prix

F1
Saturday, 25 May 2024 at 15:30
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Similar to Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner proposed a few changes to the Monaco Grand Prix ahead of this weekend's race weekend.

Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious race weekends in the F1 calendar. Together with the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it completes the triple crown of motorsport—an unofficial achievement regarded as winning three of the most prestigious races in the world.

The race at Circuit de Monaco is of special significance, and it is the dream of every single F1 driver to stand on the top step of the podium at this track.

The only problem with the Monaco Grand Prix, as opposed to other races, is that it doesn't tend to be very attractive for F1 fans to watch.

The narrow streets of Monaco through which F1 cars race make it almost impossible to overtake, which means this Grand Prix tends to be very static.

Lewis Hamilton, who won the Monaco Grand Prix three times in his career, proposed some changes to the format ahead of this weekend, as he said fans might otherwise "fall asleep."

The seven-time World Champion suggested that making the track wider or adding some overtaking opportunities would be nice, but he didn't think that was possible, so he suggested that the race should have more pit stops, which often reshuffle the order.

Speaking to the media ahead of the weekend, Christian Horner also asserted he believed there needs to be a change. As reported by total-motorsport, he said:

"I think with the size of these cars and the weight of these cars, they’re so big now, arguably, they’re too big to be racing around the streets because you can barely get to side by side so that inevitably is going to cause cause issues."
"We race here because of the history, the heritage and it's a phenomenal venue and there's a great deal of prestige in winning this race. But by and large, this race will be won tomorrow afternoon in qualifying and we should always be open to [looking at] where can we improve."

Red Bull team principal's first point was that F1 cars need to stop growing in size (as has been the trend over the last couple of years) and become smaller.

"We need to make the cars considerably smaller, going forward for 2026 which isn't really on the cards, to have a really entertaining race here."

While Hamilton didn't think adding more overtaking opportunities to the circuit was possible, Horner suggested it has to be. He said:

"We also look at at least the possibility of could we open up some areas [of the racetrack] that could potentially create at least an overtaking opportunity, and what would it all envelop to achieve that."
"So I think that's something that Formula 1 is acutely aware of, and I'm sure Monaco as well. But to protect the next 70 years here, I think that there needs to obviously be some evolution."