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Journal: What’s So Special About The Monaco Grand Prix?

What’s So Special About The Monaco Grand Prix?

By Michael Banovsky
May 15, 2015
10 comments

Forget the glitz and the glamor: Monaco is special these days for reasons you may not expect. The oldest circuit in Formula 1, it’s been a fixture of the Grand Prix calendar since 1929 and run on a route largely unchanged from its original layout—one of the few chances to see such powerful cars in the tight confines of a city.

I have a theory that goes something like this: a large reason people are turning away from racing has to do with the width of the tracks and how close the cameras are able to get to the action. It may seem trivial, but think about it: with the advent of the GoPro, automotive enthusiasts are used to seeing cameras stuffed everywhere while the action is going on.

With cameramen now farther away from the action due to the width of the track, many races seem less exciting, in my opinion. But every year, I find Monaco becomes more exciting for this very reason: it’s the closest we can get to seeing a modern car race around a historic circuit.

Why do you watch the Monaco Grand Prix?

Image Sources: wikimedia.org, wikimedia.org

Tags Formula 1/ Grand Prix/ Monaco/ Monte Carlo Harbor/ Questions
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Ken Clark
Ken Clark
6 years ago

Hands down Monaco is my favorite race to watch. It’s fascinating and interesting to watch the cars no matter where they are on the circuit. Compare that to the US COTA circuit through the esses which is just a field of painted flat concrete where turning left & right seems an exercise in futility. Around Monaco drivers are taking risks constantly for 90+ minutes. Awesome!

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Guitar Slinger
Guitar Slinger
8 years ago

By the way ; In response to a previous post/article . Here’s 120 pages of reasons to go to Monaco ;

http://www.amazon.com/Automobile-Monaco-Posters-Complete-Collection/dp/1555953379/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431965940&sr=1-1&keywords=grand+prix+automobile+de+monaco+posters

Well worth the effort to find as well as the price . Throw in Schlegelmilch’s 460 page tome ; ” Grand Prix de Monaco ” and guaranteed you’ll be looking for a way to go yourself . Unfortunately circumstances have conspired against my attending so it’ll have to be the TV for me this year

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Matthew Lange
Matthew Lange
8 years ago

As an F1 race to go and watch live it is hard to beat. I went in 2002 and again in 2004 and both times we sat on the hill with roughly the same view as in the second photograph in the article. From there we could see approximately half the track from the chicane after the tunnel through the swimming pool section all the way around to Anthony Noghes, plus the entire pit lane. What’s more these were the cheap seats if memory serves around €30-50 a day (compared with over £100 just for race day at Silverstone). You had to get there early (5:00am) to find the best spots though.
Those years were the full fat 3.0 V10 monsters and if anyone doubts the skill of F1 drivers watching Schumacher in the Ferrari and Montoya (who set pole in 2002) in the Williams slice through the swimming pool section with millimetres between their tyres and the armco was mind blowing.

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Guitar Slinger
Guitar Slinger
8 years ago
Reply to  Matthew Lange

From the expensive seats – to the cheap ones – from an ‘ associates ‘ apartment – right on down to the ‘ hill ‘ and trackside I’ve yet to find a bad place to watch the race from .

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Dennis White
Dennis White
8 years ago

All well said by Mr. Slinger and right on about F1 in general. Having attended last year (off the bucket list!), I can say nothing can match sitting in Casino Square on a beautiful day watching race cars storm by. It is more of a chase than a race given the track but 90 minutes of fantasy.

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Guitar Slinger
Guitar Slinger
8 years ago

Why do I watch Monaco ? A better question might be ; Why is Monaco the only F1 race left that I’ll actually sit down for 90 plus minutes or so and watch . The long answer I won’t go into . The short(er) answer being ;

The fact is that F1 over the last decade has become the NASCAR of open wheel racing . Understanding that NASCAR is the Professional Wrestling of motor sports . In other words ; All scripted and pre-ordained with manufactured drama and the occasional bit of reality ( read ; crashes / accidents etc ) sneaking in giving the perception that auto racing is still ‘ sport’ rather than the blatant ‘ spectacle it has become . *

Monaco , albeit highly modified and altered since its inception ( the track as well as the city in deference to what the article claims) at least providing a bit of visual interest : with the scenery trumping the so called ‘ racing ‘ hands down in this modern era of F1 .

In other words . Monaco itself provides enough of a distraction to make watching the scripted ‘ racing ‘ almost worthwhile . The difficult part being when the TV coverage spends more time on the celebrities ( who by the way are being paid to attend ) than the action/scenery on hand

* That statement being the real answer why F1 is rapidly losing spectators , sponsors , manufactures , TV audiences worldwide and iconic venues as well . e.g. Manufactured Spectacle replacing Sport

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JB21
JB21
8 years ago
Reply to  Guitar Slinger

Hey, TJ Marin, it’s you, isn’t it?

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Andy Gondorf
Andy Gondorf
8 years ago
Reply to  JB21

There’s a whisky on the bar for you sir, paid for by me.

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Guitar Slinger
Guitar Slinger
8 years ago
Reply to  JB21

Amazing how things can shift from Monaco to a game of ” Where’s Waldo ? ” Or perhaps the better analogy would be . Who is Waldo . Or more specifically . Who is TJ Marin . Marin ? The real question bring . Does it really matter ?

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JB21
JB21
8 years ago
Reply to  Guitar Slinger

Dude, it is you, TJ Martin (apologize for the previous misspelling). I may be a minority, but I’m just genuinely glad that you are back, that’s all.

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