What made the Monaco Grand Prix so boring?

The Monaco Grand Prix was eagerly anticipated this year, the Monégasque fans were eager to see their local driver, Charles Leclerc, shine and finally break the curse that had been haunting him. It’s done! Charles Leclerc becomes the first Monégasque to win at home. A collective victory because for his team, it has been 45 years since a driver has not converted a pole obtained in qualifying into a win. We have to go back to 1979 with Jody Scheckter for the first Ferrari driver’s victory in Monaco after starting from pole position.

The phenomenon of the race is undoubtedly the impressive crash of Sergio Perez with Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg, during the first lap which led to a red flag. A hectic first lap as just before, Carlos Sainz was hit by Oscar Piastri, causing a puncture. The Alpines also had a dispute, leading to the retirement of Esteban Ocon and the frustration of Pierre Gasly, the team will have to get their drivers to react to avoid the worst. This interruption allowed a tire change for all drivers for the second start, those who had used medium tires switched to hard tires.

A top 10 that hasn’t changed

In view of this first round, one could have hoped for a high-tension race, yet as the race resumed, the pace became calm, even slow, with teams wishing to preserve their tires to avoid a second stop. We know that in Monaco, it is difficult to overtake on the steep streets of the Principality. Very few overtaking zones are possible, and drivers must constantly flirt with the barriers. This weekend, many drivers pushed the limits. The incident in the first lap undoubtedly deterred drivers from taking unnecessary risks.

For spectators, it’s difficult not to get bored. The top 10 of the Monaco Grand Prix did not change between the starting grid and the end of the 78th lap. A never-before-seen fact in Formula 1 history, which can be explained by a series of circumstances. Previous instances include the fixed top 6 of Monaco 2018, Singapore 2018, and Spa 2021.

Fernando Alonso created a traffic jam in front of a train made up of Daniel Ricciardo, Logan Sargeant, Guanyu Zhou, and Valtteri Bottas to give enough space to his predecessor, his teammate Lance Stroll, to offer him a free pitstop. Beautiful plans that could have been shattered with the intervention of a safety car, but it did not intervene.

The weather could also have changed things but for this edition, the sky did not give a boost to the race, as the sun was shining, with no clouds on the horizon. Latecomers can be a distraction for the leaders at the moment of giving them a lap. A crowded track can create confusion, twists and turns, but the four retirements on the first lap reduced this possibility.

Several drivers have criticized the lack of competitiveness during the race, even if Monaco will always remain unique on the Formula 1 calendar. The next race is in two weeks in Montreal with a modified track that should create some surprises.