Monaco Mayhem: Should F1’s Crown Jewel Be Fixed or Transformed Into a Dazzling Exhibition?
The glamour of the Monaco Grand Prix has long masked a recurring issue: the racing itself often fails to live up to the hype. The 2025 edition saw a new two-stop rule intended to spice things up, but it did little to shake the procession-like nature of the event. With overtaking still rare and strategy often irrelevant, fans and pundits are asking: can Monaco be fixed — or is it time for a rethink?
One bold idea is to remove Monaco from the World Championship calendar entirely and turn it into an exhibition race. This wouldn’t be without precedent. Formula 1 once hosted non-championship Grands Prix, offering a low-stakes environment where teams could experiment and new drivers could get valuable seat time. Monaco, with its historic appeal and unique layout, is already a rule-bender — it doesn’t meet the usual 305km race distance due to time constraints. As an exhibition, it could become a playground for innovation: teams might run experimental technologies or bring out classic cars for a special showcase, with a big cash prize to fuel competition.
Another option is to double down on strategy by mandating the use of all three tyre compounds — soft, medium, and hard. This would force teams to be more creative, increasing the chance of unpredictable outcomes. While it wouldn’t solve the overtaking issue, it could introduce more variation and excitement.
Ultimately, the real question might not be how to “fix” Monaco, but how to reposition it. F1 has evolved — bigger cars, higher speeds, and a global entertainment machine — but Monaco hasn’t. Perhaps the key is accepting it for what it is: a relic of a different era, still iconic, but best enjoyed on its own terms.
