Domenicali refutes Monaco criticism: 'The event has been amazing'

11:01, 28 May

byOlly Darcy

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has said that the Monaco Grand Prix "event has been amazing", despite criticism of the Grand Prix and the mandatory two-stop rule for Sunday's race.

In February, the FIA announced that it would be adding a new rule for the Grand Prix in the Principality in an attempt to improve the spectacle of the race, with two mandatory pit stops needing to be done by team during the race.

However, that change did not have the desired affect, with one driver going far slower than usual to create a pit window for the other, meaning very little on track action took place.

Despite the mandatory two-stop rule brought in by the FIA, little changed during the race, with overtaking still very challenging.

After the race, Max Verstappen suggested the race needed a Mario Kart-style fix to improve it, while George Russell said F1 drivers need a button to turn the sprinklers on during the race.

F1 fans also had plenty of criticism regarding Sunday's race in Monte Carlo. However, Domenicali did not see the weekend in the Principality in that way.

"The Monaco event has been amazing," the F1 CEO said positively while speaking to Sky Sports.

"We've never had so many people, so many boats, so much attention. That means the event itself is what Formula 1 wants, and that is really fantastic."

Domenicali in conversation to make changes for Monaco

However, even though the former Ferrari team boss was buoyant about the event, he honestly admitted that the race in Monaco itself did not offer much of a spectacle.

"We know that the width of the streets is limited and the cars are quite big, so the intent is to pay attention to that," the Italian said.

"It was great to see that everybody was thinking that everyone would be making a pit stop on the first lap, and there was a lot of discussion, so no one really understood anything. I think it was the right attempt, and the attention was definitely there. Of course, the teams figured out the strategy and took that out of it. It is a good thing that we are talking about it.

I mean, we're talking with the city, but as you can imagine, that's not at all easy at all. So let's enjoy the event that has, at the end of the day, been fantastic," Domenicali concluded.

This article was written in collaboration with Mitchel van de Hoef