In this way, the Monaco Grand Prix no longer belongs on the Formula 1 calendar

The Grand Prix weekend in Monaco is beautiful until Sunday. The free practices, and junior series sessions provide plenty of entertainment on Friday and Saturday. The F1 qualifying on Saturday afternoon is even the highlight of the Formula 1 season, but what follows on Sunday can again be described as the low point of the year.

One naturally leads to the other. The narrow streets provide the spectacle on Saturday, but also the procession on Sunday. While Saturday has fans on the edge of their seats to see who finishes the most important qualifying session of the season as the fastest, on Sunday, fans watch drivers purposely drive as slowly as possible because overtaking is not possible. They are two extremes that are becoming an increasing problem.

Before the race weekend in Monaco, everyone agreed that the two required pit stops were a good move by F1 and FIA. At least, everyone was happy that F1 and FIA were looking for a way to make Monaco more exciting on Sunday. Whether the experiment would succeed, of course, was another matter.

The conclusion after the Grand Prix was clear: the experiment failed. The two pit stops did not lead to more spectacle at all. On the contrary, the problem only increased. Due to the two mandatory pit stops, drivers could help each other out with space for a pit stop. Racing Bulls and Williams made great use of this.

You can blame those teams, but all competitors agreed: they would have done exactly the same in the same situation. This is what Monaco asks of you on Sunday. Now it was about P6 and P9. If McLaren had been running 1 and 2, the same strategy would have been used for the win.

After the Grand Prix, there was unanimous agreement that something new must be devised for 2026. It cannot continue this way. Even the drivers nearly fall asleep during the race, let alone the fans. This is not good for Formula 1.

No one had a real solution for the problem afterward. Toto Wolff even suggested that teams should be forbidden to drive slower, but all competitors wondered how you would regulate that and to what extent. However, there is no other solution. ''Maybe do four pit stops next year,'' was the sarcastic, but effective response from Verstappen.

Because no matter how you twist or turn it, extra pit stops do not solve the real problem of Monaco. That is, with the current cars, too wide, there is no possibility of overtaking in Monaco. According to data from the teams, overtaking is only possible if you are 3.5 to 4 seconds faster than your predecessor. In short: overtaking is not possible in Monaco.

Before the Monaco GP, according to Jonathan Wheatley, there was no alternative plan to make Monaco more exciting. In other words, we must go back to the drawing board for 2026. The only real solution seems to be an adjustment to the circuit so that overtaking is possible. But is that possible in Monaco and perhaps even more importantly: does Monaco itself want that?

If the answer to one of those questions is no, then Formula 1 should seriously ask itself whether the Monaco GP belongs on the calendar. Yes, the qualifying on Saturday is the most beautiful moment of the season and the pictures and surroundings in Monaco are exceptional and you would not like to see disappear.

On the other hand, there is that dramatic Sunday. Without external factors such as rain, a red flag, or safety car, the race is a procession where teams use the rules to make the race even more duller for the audience.

This makes the race on Sunday a charade of what F1 should be: the fastest cars in the world, with the best drivers in the world, racing as hard as possible on the world's most beautiful circuits.