If for most teams the ‘home race’ takes place at Silverstone, then for most drivers the ‘home race’ can be considered as the race in Monaco. For Charles Leclerc it is quote-unquote home, for many others it is their hometown. The quiet and cozy tax haven of the Grimaldi family on the Cote d’Azur attracts tourists, but does not like outsiders. That’s why world sports stars, and not just others, feel comfortable there.
For others, of course, there are difficulties – there are almost no hotels in Monaco, there is no airport, team employees come by train every morning – there are terrible traffic jams on the narrow winding roads – from neighboring Nice and other nearby towns and villages where you can stay. The morning queues at the stations for staff and fans are impressive – you won’t see this anywhere else.
The city will be closed off before the sessions start. Local residents sometimes cannot get to the nearest bakery, but in the evening the restrictions are lifted and where the racers had just fought, road traffic resumes, DJs play, fans communicate and dance and drink frothy drinks. There are not toilets everywhere, so by morning the track is not in the best condition. But this is part of the attractive uniqueness of the Monaco stage.
The narrow city highway is completely unsuitable for modern wide and heavy cars. Overtaking is impossible there, but how interesting is qualifying if you have to attack at the limit, since the starting position determines everything!
There are traditions that must be respected to maintain continuity, but Formula 1’s American owners at Liberty Media have other priorities. Americans do not bring partners and sponsors to Monaco; the role of exhibition venues is now played by Miami and Las Vegas, where there is something for everyone.
This year there will still be many expensive yachts in Monaco, with teams and sponsors renting them out for their guests to treat them to champagne and invite to a party after the sessions.
The Stade Louis II will once again host the traditional football match of the National Piloti team, with the same amateur brass band performing and playing the national anthem before the start.
There will be a fashion show and a charity auction. But where Formula 1 previously needed a status stage in Monaco, Monaco now needs a Formula 1 stage to remind the rest of the world once a year of the existence of a small Principality in a cozy corner of the Cote d’Azur.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
