Monaco, Formula One, Celebrity, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Sport,
Formula One’s flagship event took place last weekend in the streets of Monte Carlo. The iconic race is steeped in history with every driver wanting to race there and more importantly win there. This year was a bit of a snooze fest of a grand prix compared to races in the past and certainly this season in Formula One. However there were some talking points that are worth mentioning. Including a curse broken, team fallouts and all the other things that Monaco brings on Formula One race weekend.
A Home Favourite Wins at last:
It was only a matter of time wasn’t it? Charles Leclerc in Ferrari red, FINALLY won his home race around the Principality. After heartbreak in 2021 when he had qualified first which is so important in Monte Carlo, he crashed his car on the final lap of qualifying, after Ferrari thought they had done their job of fixing the car during the night, Leclerc suffered a gearbox issue on his way to the grid. Ultimate heartbreak.
In 2022 it didn’t get much better as, again, he qualified first but strategy, which again is so important in Monaco, screwed him over after a mix up with communication meant he pitted earlier than planned and ended up finishing sixth.
However in 2024 finally he was able to deliver and was able to break his curse of no win at home and brought home the Ferrari in the race from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. The emotion was clear to see from his team radio after the race and celebrations after he got out the car. He is the first Monacase driver to win the race since the very first race in 1936 which wasn’t even classified as a Formula One race. Curse finally broken.
French no Connection:
Well, well, well it’s happened again. These two just can’t seem to put their differences aside and do what’s best for the team. This time Estaban Ocon decided that an overtake at Portier was a good decision and bumps into his team mate Pierre Gasly in the process sending his own car flying off the ground with a heavy impact.
The move ultimately cost Ocon his time in the race after he had too much damage from the crash. Team principal at Alpine Bruno Famin had some strong words for Ocon after the race on French TV.
Famin said: “Estban’s attack was completely out of hand. It’s exactly what we didn’t want to see, and there will be consequences.”
These consequences are unclear at the moment with many predicting that he will be dropped for the next race in Canada. As well as him being dropped from the team entirely. No matter what happens to Ocon the french outfit have a lot of problems to sort out, a slow car, an intense internal rivalry between their drivers and an unstable technical area. It looks like a bleak picture for Alpine.
The Beauty of Monaco Grand Prix:
Monaco is one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar each year and therefore brings a star studded audience to the Mediterranean coast. Everywhere you looked during qualifying and especially the race. From musicians such as Joe Jonas and John Legend. To actors such as Jared Leto and Michael Douglas. To footballers such as Kylian Mbappe and Virgil Van Dijk. To supermodels such as Emily Ratajkowski and Winnie Harlow.
Everyone wants to come to the most glamorous sporting event on the planet. Even if the race hasn’t become the most exciting race in the most recent years it still brings the A listers to the streets of Monte Carlo.
Formula One in Monaco is Still Iconic:
When people over social media demand for Monaco to be scrapped. I just think what a load of ****. Monaco is the best race on the F1 calendar by a country mile. Has the race got more boring, yes, I am not going to deny that. However, the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton bring up a great point of making Monaco a mandatory two stop race instead of the standard one.
This eliminates the bore fest that we got last weekend when teams didn’t have to pit again after the red flag to the race because of Perez and Magnussen’s crash, whilst means that we are able to see some under/over cuts in pit strategies meaning that the drivers aren’t just driving Monaco for 2 hours without any meaning because of qualifying.
Monaco needs changes but doesn’t need scrapping. That’s like taking Augusta away from the Masters tournament. Or taking all the cup finals and international fixtures away from Wembley. It would be a disaster! Monaco is the reason drivers become drivers in the first place. Drivers want to win Monaco. What is Formula One without Monaco? Nothing that is what it is.