Cities across the globe are clamoring for a Formula One race and willing to pay astronomical fees to land a grand prix. The demand has put the Monaco Grand Prix, one of F1바카라s marquee events, in jeopardy. (More Sports News)
Impossible, one would think.
After all, F1 is as much part of the tiny principality바카라s image as Grace Kelly and Monaco바카라s famed casino. The grand prix also forms motorsports바카라 Triple Crown along with the Indianapolis 500 and 24 Hours of Le Mans.
While the promoters of Monaco pay F1 a sanctioning fee, it바카라s believed to be nominal and around $15 million annually. Other cities pay closer to $60 million per year. F1 is in the final year of its contract with the Monaco Grand Prix, and if financial negotiations don바카라t improve, the circuit could fall from the 2023 calendar.
바카라I think Monaco has had a very advantageous commercial agreement with Formula One forever, and I think all Formula One is trying to do is to get a commercial agreement in place that바카라s more consistent with the other venues, while recognizing its importance on the calendar,바카라 McLaren Racing head Zak Brown said.
바카라I think Formula One is now of a size and scope that it바카라s bigger than any one team, bigger than any one driver and bigger than any one race. I think, of course, none of us would want to see Monaco go but also understand as commercial rights holder, they need to have an arrangement that바카라s more consistent with the other venues given the demand of tracks that want to host grand prixs.바카라
F1바카라s popularity is booming, in large part due to the four-year run of the Netflix docuseries 바카라Drive To Survive.바카라 Now Saudi Arabia has a long contract with F1, a 10-year deal with Qatar begins next year and Bahrain expanded its deal through 2036.
Miami was added to this year바카라s schedule and the United States will have three F1 races in 2023 when Las Vegas joins the calendar.
Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer credited Liberty Media, the American company that owns F1바카라s rights, and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali for the growth of the global series.
바카라We바카라re selling out now, there바카라s fans and more races. I바카라m sure that they바카라ll do a good job with the negotiations in Monaco and they바카라ll come to the right conclusion,바카라 Szafnauer said.
But is Monaco replaceable amid this shifting landscape?
바카라I think it would be a bad move. F1 without Monaco for me is not F1,바카라 said Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari driver and Monaco native. 바카라F1 has historic tracks like Silverstone, like Monza, and I think they should stay.바카라
The racing, however, is not all that compelling and most of the action happens in qualifying. Come race day, passing is almost impossible on the narrow 3.34-kilometer (2.1-mile) street circuit.
Modern audiences want action and F1 has seen a surge in wheel-to-wheel racing in the past couple of years. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had one of the most epic battles in decades for last year바카라s championship.
바카라I think if they would propose the plans nowadays with how the track layout is, probably it would not be on the calendar,바카라 said Verstappen, the reigning world champion. 바카라But I think because of the historic value, it belongs on the calendar.
It바카라s hard to picture F1 without Monaco.
On the glistening harbor, it바카라s a case of those who have big yachts vs. those who have huge yachts. Champagne corks pop and glasses clink while the rich indulge themselves as cars whizz by. Perched atop a sloping hill, Prince Albert바카라s royal palace peers over the track. Down below, loud music pumps until late at night as revelers literally drink in the atmosphere.
바카라The whole kind of place is getting into it, and enjoying the event,바카라 Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo said. 바카라It has a unique kind of aura about it. There바카라s only one circuit that I바카라ve ever rocked up to the track on a boat. You pass one boat, which is huge and then the next one바카라s bigger and then bigger. It바카라s literally surreal.바카라
Locals watch from their balconies, wealthy punters cram onto a terrace directly overlooking the last two corners, La Rascasse and Antony Noghes 바카라 named after the founder of the race.
Celebrities pour in every race weekend and actors pop over from the nearby Cannes Film Festival. On Saturday, Hamilton arrived at the venue by speedboat.
바카라This is one of the most exciting, if not the most exciting race weekends of the year,바카라 Hamilton said.
Leclerc grew up in a flat overlooking the track, playing with red Ferrari toy cars. Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso, who won here twice, says replacing Monaco because it바카라s hard to pass during a race is an absurd idea.
바카라I think it has to be in the calendar,바카라 the 40-year-old Spaniard said. 바카라Before 2011 or whatever, there were no overtakings in Budapest or in Barcelona or in Singapore, and they were not talking about removing those races.바카라
