- A second pit stop was mandated but layer of novelty didn’t shake up the order
- Lando Norris won from pole and the front four finished where they had started
- Mercedes’ George Russell, who finished in 11th, argued for a drastic revamp
George Russell called for the Monaco Grand Prix to be axed and replaced with two qualifying sessions, after an attempt to spice up Formula One’s blue riband grand prix ended without a single overtaking move.
Following last year’s one-stop procession, a second pit stop was mandated for Sunday’s race. This added a layer of novelty without shaking up the order.
The front four finished the 78 laps where they had started on the grid, as Lando Norris won from pole.
Mercedes man Russell, who finished a frustrating 11th, argued for a major revamp, saying: ‘You do one qualifying session on Saturday, one on Sunday, and the guy who qualifies pole gets some points and gets a little trophy.
‘And the one on Sunday gets some more points, because that’s what we love most. And 99 per cent of the other people in Monaco are here sipping champagne on a yacht, so they don’t really care.’
George Russell has called for the Monaco Grand Prix to be replaced by two qualifying sessions
Lando Norris won from pole while the front four finished the 78 laps where they began the day
Red Bull boss Christian Horner says the layout of the iconic circuit should be tweaked
Red Bull boss Christian Horner instead thinks the layout of the tight circuit should be tweaked.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, a triple winner in Monaco who finished fifth for Ferrari, hailed practice and qualifying around the sinuous streets, but added: ‘Sunday is the day you almost want off.’
Red Bull boss Horner said: ‘The two-stopper was an improvement. Strategically, it was more interesting. There was more jeopardy to it, but it did not address the fundamental problem.
‘That is that you cannot overtake here. Changing the layout is the only way to encourage any form of that. You need to create more braking area either on the exit of the tunnel or Turn One.
‘We should really investigate it. The cars are so big now that you just don’t have a chance to get alongside.
‘Everything has to move with the times. It’s an iconic, historic circuit and you want to preserve that. But look at how Monaco has changed, how much land they’ve reclaimed from the sea in Formula One’s 72 appearances here. You would not need to do too much. There just needs to be one area that you can have an overtake.
‘Everyone knows the race was pretty much done in qualifying on Saturday.’
The Automobile Club de Monaco, who run the grand prix, claim revamping the layout is impossible. A new configuration was not demanded when F1 signed an extension last year to preserve the race until 2031.
