Verstappen's And Hamilton's Opinions About 2024 Monaco Grand Prix Countered By Hill

Tuesday, 04 June 2024 at 22:00

1996 Formula One World Champion Damon Hill asserted a view opposing those of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton while rating the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix.

The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix was rather a static race, which resulted from a red flag being triggered on the opening lap.

This red flag allowed everyone to change tires, fulfilling the mandatory tire compound change. As it is nearly impossible to overtake this circuit, everyone decided the best strategy would be to go on one set of tires until the end of the race.

The F1 tires wouldn't usually make it for such long distances, but they did, thanks to super careful management from all drivers. What it also resulted in was a super slow pace. Max Verstappen said after the race:

"No one really wanted to stress their tires too much because you know you can't pass around here, so it's not really exciting. It's a bit of a shame. We are driving literally half-throttle on the straights, in a higher gear than you would normally do, four seconds off the pace."

Read also

Explained: Red Bull's Amusing Response To Ocon's Alpine Exit That Many People Didn't Get

"That's not really racing. We all know in Monaco what it is like. In the last few years it is even more difficult with the width of the cars but it is nothing new. I would like to change, if possible, a few little things because it would make will make it more exciting."

Lewis Hamilton's and Verstappen's opinions don't tend to meet too often, but the seven-time World Champion was of a similar belief this time.

The 39-year-old said the eighth race of the season around Circuit de Monaco was one of the "dullest" races he had ever participated in. His proposed changes included a wider track with more overtaking opportunities or more mandatory pitstops.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast one week later, Damon Hill asserted he didn't find the race in Monaco "samey" as other people did. He explained his view:

"It was great. I know some people thought that the Monaco GP was a little bit samey. But I didn't, and I can give you a long, long list of reasons why that is."

"It was great to get another winner. Charles was absolutely fantastic to win as a Monegasque. It's the first time it had happened for 93 years."

The fact that Charles Leclerc won the race added a beautiful story to the weekend, making it much more enjoyable.

But the question that might reveal whether the race itself was interesting is: Would people say the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix was a great race if Max Verstappen won it from the pole just like Leclerc did?