Christian Horner issues Monaco GP plea after latest criticism

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has stated the Monaco Grand Prix must “move with the times” following another processional race last weekend.

F1 attempted to shake up the show this year by introducing a mandatory two-stop strategy on Sunday.

However, it failed to change the spectacle as the extremely few overtaking chances allowed teams to back up their rivals to get one of their cars to pit and re-emerge back in the same position.

Monaco has long been a track that has featured very few in-race overtakes, with the narrow layout being the main culprit.

Horner has suggested the circuit would not need too much tinkering to allow for racing.

“I think everything has to move with the times, ultimately, doesn’t it? It’s an iconic, historic circuit,” Horner told media including RacingNews365.

“If you look at how Monaco has changed, how much land they’ve reclaimed into the sea in the 72 appearances here, I don’t think you would need to maybe do too much.

“It just needs to be one area that you can have an overtake.

“Everybody knows that coming here, the race was pretty much done [in qualifying].

“And we’ve introduced another dynamic with the pit stop, which ultimately for the top ten, other than the retirement, there’s no real change of position.”

GPDA chairman Alex Wurz presented his own minor circuit tweaks that he believes would improve the spectacle.

Horner acknowledged the current generation of cars, which are wider than ever before, play a major role in the problem.

“I think these cars are just too big for this circuit,” he said. “You can barely get them side by side.

“That’s Monaco, we know that. We all want to be here. We’re all here because it is Monaco, and the prestige and the cachet that goes with that. But everything has to move with the times at some point.”