What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the Monaco Grand Prix.
RaceFans has held polls on every F1 race since 2008 to find out which fans thought of each round of the season.
Join in the latest poll and give your verdict on the race: 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.
What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:
Rate the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix out of ten
- 10 (1%)
- 9 (2%)
- 8 (10%)
- 7 (18%)
- 6 (18%)
- 5 (16%)
- 4 (12%)
- 3 (10%)
- 2 (7%)
- 1 (9%)
Total Voters: 376
1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’
A RaceFans account is required to vote. You can register an account here or read more about registering here. When this poll is closed the result will be displayed instead of the voting form.
View more Rate the Race results:
- Rate the Race: The RaceFans Top 100
- Rate the Race: The RaceFans Bottom 10
- Rate the Race: Circuit ratings
See the results for past seasons here:
- Rate the Race results 2016
- Rate the Race results 2015
- Rate the Race results 2014
- Rate the Race results 2013
- Rate the Race results 2012
- Rate the Race results 2011
- Rate the Race results 2010
- Rate the Race results 2009
- Rate the Race results 2008
2018 Monaco Grand Prix
- Ricciardo’s win shows F1 is more competitive in 2018
- 2018 Monaco Grand Prix Star Performers
- Top ten pictures from the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix
- Ricciardo wins the great Monaco go-slow show
- Paddock Diary: Why the shine is coming off F1’s ‘jewel’
Debates and polls
- Will Alonso win a world championship title with Aston Martin?
- How long should Red Bull give Ricciardo to prove he’s not lost his touch?
- Were stewards right to penalise Alonso over his driving before Russell’s crash?
- Are Williams right to bench Sargeant so Albon can race after crash?
- Is the FIA right to make ten seconds the new standard for penalties?
Jere (@jerejj)
27th May 2018, 15:59
A rather exciting race for this circuit’s standards. Not the best of the season, but not too bad either.
glynh (@glynh)
27th May 2018, 15:59
8. Brilliantly tense up front with no idea who was going to win, some interesting pit strategies, the traditional crash and some good overtakes from verstappen.
Spectacular drive from Ricciardo.
BasCB (@bascb)
27th May 2018, 16:16
Yeah, i agree @glynh. We had tension for most of the race from that. We had tragicomical moments from Stroll at several points. Verstappen giving us a bit of overtaking to help along the action (best moments probably with Sainz). We got a radio show from Hamilton trying to talk his engineers into a strategy mistake.
And we got a pretty big crash with Leclerc impressive thinking to try and slow down the car by sliding along the barriers.
Well deserved race victory from Daniel. And great post race moments in the interview with DC too.
Michael Brown (@)
27th May 2018, 17:38
As opposed to Grosjean who would accelerate along the barriers
stefano (@alfa145)
27th May 2018, 23:06
gold
Phylyp (@phylyp)
27th May 2018, 16:00
Typical Monaco GP, won yesterday by Ricciardo’s good qualifying, and the Red Bull’s grip and kindness on tyres. Good of RIC to retain the lead even after his MGU-K failure, but probably the best defensive track.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
27th May 2018, 16:01
Also, good that the crash was uneventful on the rest of the grid, and didn’t mess up RIC’s race, or any of the other runners (apart from Hartley).
Joao (@johnmilk)
28th May 2018, 9:24
the most astonishing thing, was the work done by the marshals, compare it to the ones in Spain (or Catalanuya) and they just look embarrassing. Monaco’s marshals should travel with the circus, they are the best in the business, any other place and we would have SCs deployed
Montréalais (@)
28th May 2018, 11:21
You are right, there, @johnmilk. The marshals deserve a massive vote of thanks from us all. They were amazingly fast and efficient in clearing the cars and debris off the racing line without impacting the race in any serious way.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
27th May 2018, 16:03
Good jobs by Ocon & Gasly, shame for Leclerc, but was cool of him to try and still avoid the car in front despite a failed brake.
JohnNik (@johnnik)
27th May 2018, 16:00
Standard format for his year. A procession until it got closer at the end.
Gave me my first perfect prediction though so I’m happy.
carbon_fibre (@carbon_fibre)
27th May 2018, 16:00
60 laps on one set of tyres in Monaco. It doesn’t get worse than this. No overtakes even from the pitstops.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
27th May 2018, 16:01
6/10. Was great in terms of strategy and tyre differences, and it was really good to see the midfield so close, but let’s be honest, no real overtaking was there. If only the tunnel straight had DRS, I think we would see a lot more overtaking, but it’s too unsafe I guess.
TdM (@tdm)
27th May 2018, 16:01
A bit dull. Felt there might be some strategy for a while but turned into the M25 for most of the race.
There was no risk at the front once we knew the bull was looking after it’s tyres.
Kribana (@krichelle)
27th May 2018, 16:01
1. Maybe even 0. First time I have fallen asleep for a short time while watching an F1 race. Not because of no overtaking but mainly because US tyres being super slow and getting grained. No surprise Grosjean got in the 1:14’s. I am sure everyone turned the engine down and just gave up since it is just one race and the preservation of the power units.
steveetienne
27th May 2018, 17:34
1 at the most. boring.
Matheus Ramos (@jedimaster9)
27th May 2018, 16:03
Surprisingly good!
Adam (@rocketpanda)
27th May 2018, 16:03
Bit bland, but congratulations to Ricciardo. Was pretty faultless apart from the… fault.
Seemed to constantly threaten an interesting race but one didn’t happen. Typical Monaco really.
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
27th May 2018, 16:06
Good race (for Monaco). Good tension with RICs problems and whether the Ferrari and Merc tyres would hold out to the finish.
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
27th May 2018, 22:56
Oh, and whether VER would have a bingle.
John Toad (@)
27th May 2018, 16:07
Summed up all that is wrong with F1 currently and why Monaco doesn’t deserve to be on any racing calendar.
The winner held on to his lead despite being well down on power because the cars behind were too busy preserving their tyres.
This isn’t racing!!!!!
ColdFly (@)
27th May 2018, 16:21
It’s only 1 in 20. It’s special. It’s part of F1.
Enough reasons to keep it; it strengthens the brand F1.
Compare this to the final Sunday in a big cycling race.
Michael Brown (@)
27th May 2018, 16:37
@ceevee This was better than Spain and Australia.
ColdFly (@)
27th May 2018, 16:18
A race in where one cannot overtake even when 3sec faster cannot get more than 7 points IMO.
This one deserved the 7 points. I actually enjoyed this one from start to finish.
Well done Ricciardo (and Gasly).
MG1982 (@mg1982)
27th May 2018, 16:34
7/10.
Gave it a 7, more due to the tension up front. Anyway, congrats to RIC, really deserved win.
PS: I’m not (F1) tech expert, but I think that comparison with Schumacher being stuck in 5th gear for most of the 1994 Spanish GP is really exaggerated. Therefore, in my opinion, Horner is quite a parvenu. This was Monaco, the most horrible track when it comes to overtaking. Plus, VET was quite weak indeed on Ultras, he couldn’t even mount a single pass over 45 laps… although RIC was supposed to have a serious problem. If you ask me, I think the problem wasn’t so serious as it seemed. RIC was still able to go as low as 1.16 at certain moments, then if the cars behind were slower even tho he was supposed to have a serious problem… then were’s the big achievement?! OR the circuit masked the issue perfectly. No offense to RIC, the race was tough, but it’s not like he managed to keep behind a 3sec per lap faster car for 45 laps.
pSynrg (@psynrg)
27th May 2018, 18:32
@mg1982 Nope, Horner was born into money. At the very least, upper middle class (by classical British definition).
Thomas
27th May 2018, 16:41
5/10: Seeing an F1 car in Monaco is always a nice thing + a likeable winner, but if ‘tension’ is running 1.5 secs behind eachother, without ever making any moves, then the scale needs to go to 20 going forward.. very little real action this time around.
Michael Brown (@)
27th May 2018, 16:42
6/10. Even though it was dull, there was something keeping me glued to the screen for the whole race. Perhaps it was the tire strategies, or how close Vettel kept bringing the gap down to Ricciardo, though he destroyed his tires in doing so.
Definitely more interesting to watch than Australia or Spain this year.
Patrick (@anunaki)
27th May 2018, 16:44
7
I had a good time watching this race. Only thing that really bothered me was Vettel not even trying anything on RIC.
Maybe this point system doesn’t really reward winning enough. I was thinking about Mansell all over Senna in (I think) 92.
TomD11 (@tomd11)
27th May 2018, 16:48
That was dire, even for Monaco. I’m usually willing to overlook the lack of overtaking in Monte Carlo because of the sheer spectacle of watching F1 cars going all-out, inches from the barriers but this edition didn’t even have that going for it. It was verging on farce just how slowly the front-runners were going: Daniel because of his power issues and the others because of the tyres and not wanting to be first to blink and make a second stop and lose track position. I’m not one of those who think that overtaking is the be all and end all but this race just had nothing going for it. Roll on Canada.
Broke84 (@broke84)
27th May 2018, 16:49
I gave it a 3. Bearing in mind that 5 to me means average this was below average.
Typical of monaco to produce a race like this, but overall I generally considerer monaco to be a poor race.
Kane
27th May 2018, 16:55
I can only assume that most of you live in an alternative reality and were watching a totally different race. 78 parade laps. Same every year except this time there was less crashing than previous years. 50+ laps on hyper soft tyres, everyone running slowly because no one can overtake and everyone had worn tyres. RIC is down 180bhp and a perfectly good Ferrari can’t overtake.
Monte Carlo is for the rich, not the fans.
bcoliver
27th May 2018, 16:57
+1
TdM (@tdm)
27th May 2018, 17:14
Have to admit, I was wondering if everyone had been on a different channel it was all tyre saving behind a slow car. The problem is, they have to save tyres because track position is everything here and there is no point in risking an overtake here because you have a very high chance of not finishing the race if you have a go. Track is too narrow, cars are too wide, no run off and you need a compliant opponent most of the time. Especially for the top teams, it’s better to finish where you started with some points than lose a wing or worse.
Even a flat spot from pushing too hard can mean it’s all over for you here. Slow and steady bags you a sensible number of points.
Michal (@michal2009b)
27th May 2018, 16:59
What a borefest, no position changes in the top 6. Ricciardo had a problem but there was no tension as Vettel never threatened a move. Extreme tyre-saving, tuned down engines, no wonder there were no incidents apart from Leclerc’s brake failure.
Monaco’s Sunday is a perfect day for celebrities faking F1 interest. For racing fans countdown to real racing track – Montreal – begins.
sam3110 (@sam3110)
27th May 2018, 17:00
Gave it a 1.
If the slowest car on the track is out in front and can win the race, is the circuit really fit for purpose?
Put it another way, if there was no Monaco GP and they revealed plans to race there, and showed this circuit to everyone, would the race be granted a place on the calender? I highly doubt it would.
Make a special event at Monaco, call it the Monaco Festival of Speed and take it off the actual race calender, it’s becoming farcical now and it’s only going to get worse in the coming years
Philip (@philipgb)
27th May 2018, 17:10
Shame Vettel didn’t fight more for the victory but not terrible for Monaco 6/10
FlatSix (@)
27th May 2018, 19:45
@philipgb I do think he genuinely tried on couple of occasions, but there is simply no following the other car that close IF you don’t have a massive tyre advantage.
KaIIe (@kaiie)
27th May 2018, 17:22
Let’s put it this way: there was a chance of tension and excitement. But somehow it never materialised.
At least the cars were fast this year, and the race was over in 1h40min instead of the 2 hour limit.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
27th May 2018, 17:30
@kaiie – Wasn’t this due to the clean race, and absence of SCs? Even the one retirement and one crash were quickly cleared away under yellows and a VSC.
I took a quick look at Wikipedia, and the quickest lap in 2017 was 1:14.820 and that of 2018 was 1:14.260, within roughly half a second.
Tim (@gusty)
27th May 2018, 17:25
If it wasn’t for Ricciardo’s power problem it would have been a typically boring Monaco race, but the issue did throw some uncertainty into the mix even if Vettel was unable to capitalise on it
RedEaredRabbit (@redearedrabbit)
27th May 2018, 17:28
On the upside, I’m a fan of RIC and I wanted him to win, so glad he did.
On the downside, the track is clearly unusable with modern F1 cars. I know about all the history of Monaco, but unless it rains, it’s a procession. Vettel couldn’t even challenge Daniel once with the latter in a seriously stricken car. Very few overtakes down the field either.
Most of the drivers just ran on worn out tyres for much of the race as going slow didn’t matter.
Love F1 but they either need to change the Monaco circuit or bin it.
Also, what was going on with RIC driving slow at the start to bunch up the field? Hope it wasn’t team orders by RB to make it easier for Max.
Understeer (@abdelilah)
27th May 2018, 17:30
6/10
Jorge Lardone (@jorge-lardone)
27th May 2018, 17:32
8/10. Monaco is one of the best places in the world to see a formula 1 race.
Good job by Ricciardo, Vettel, Ocon and Gasly.
thegamer23
27th May 2018, 17:41
Awful race.
Everybody lapping like 10 seconds slower than quali in order to save the tyres, barely any overtaking move.
Just have a Quali Trophy here, it’s useless to race
Miltiadis (@miltosgreekfan)
27th May 2018, 17:44
Pirelli tyres ruin everything… Its not possible to do 60+ laps on the ultras….. There was no clip off in the tyres & since we were in Monaco, nothing happened… They were like trains, no movement at all. Bottas who was on ssoft was ages faster that the top 4, but with the aerodynamic, he was lapping in the 1.19 as the car in front.
At least there was some movement in the midfield…
nase
27th May 2018, 17:52
One of the weirdest races in Monaco I remember seeing. Tyre situation reminiscent of 2012 (which I think was an epic season), with teams and drivers finding all sorts of different answers to these issues. When was the last time the slowest driver on the track changed tyres and lapped 4.5 seconds faster than the leaders? Must’ve been a wet race.
A feast for us strategy nerds, probably a bore for casual viewers. But you know what? Screw those people.
Duncan Snowden
27th May 2018, 19:03
Agree 100%. It wasn’t an exciting race by any stretch of the imagination, but I was glued to the screen. It was absolutely fascinating. Best Monaco in a long time.
Look, naysayers, Monaco’s different. Just completing almost 80 laps round that place is an achievement. Think of it as a two-hour endurance race and you’ll enjoy it a lot more.
steveetienne
28th May 2018, 10:21
It was dreadful – no matter how much spin you want to put on it. I found more interest in watching some cheese dry. Hamilton and Alonso also claim it was boring – but yet you 2 non – F1 drivers claim that anyone who thinks different is incorrect and that they be screwed – what are you the difference of opinion Police?
nase
28th May 2018, 16:36
@ steveetienne
I can hand that compliment straight back to you. I’m stating my own impression while outlining a group of viewers that might agree with me. You, however, seem to be so bothered by Duncan’s and my opinion that you call it “putting a spin on it”, categorically declaring the race “dreadful”, and denigrate us as an “opinion Police” for not having the same opinion as you.
The irony of all that may be lost on you, but others might appreciate it.
Also, I couldn’t care less about what the drivers think about the race. What do they know about the enjoyment a fan could derive from all the strategic options that ebbed and flowed throughout the race? Positively nothing. I would never doubt their outstanding competence behind the wheel, but I certainly don’t need them (let alone you) to tell me what to think of a race, thank you very much.
Duncan Snowden
28th May 2018, 18:13
That’s an excellent point. They’re in the car, not watching from the outside. What do they know? Sure, they’re fans as well as drivers, but Fernando and Lewis were moaning about it being “boring” the minute they took their helmets off. There’s no way it was their considered opinion having actually watched it. Maybe it was boring to drive. So what? They’re paid to win races, not enjoy themselves.
I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday’s race, and I’ve seen some real snoozefests in my time. It wasn’t a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m not about to defer or apologise to anyone who thinks I shouldn’t have.
Further to my comment about it being a sort of endurance race, I think Mark Webber put it best in one of Channel 4’s little promo films: at Monaco, it’s less about racing against other people as it is racing against the track itself. That’s the point. You don’t expect overtaking there, but that’s no reason not to enjoy great driving or clever strategy (and to appreciate the passes that are made all the more because they’re so hard to pull off). If we’d seen the same kind of procession at Melbourne, I’d be first in the queue to complain. But every circuit’s different.
Dave
27th May 2018, 17:54
Very average.
Archit (@architjain07)
27th May 2018, 17:55
3 in my opinion.
They should have rather run the race under safety car! Top 5 were driving 3 seconds slower than normal speed! No overtaking opportunities! Fact that Ricciardo could win with MGU-K failure speaks volume about this track. This track only has the hype but no action! Azerbaijan is 100 times better than Monaco any day!
We need more start/stop circuits rather than a processional race like today!
nase
27th May 2018, 18:09
@architjain07
Yeah, to me that sounds like suggesting we should all skip normal food and drink glucose syrup because it’s so much sweeter.
I’d rather watch 10 Monacos than a single Baku.
David BR (@david-br)
27th May 2018, 18:20
I gave it 3 too. I’m sure Monaco is glamorous when you’re there. But on the TV it might as well be Oldham with added sunshine for all the difference it would make. As for the race, it was average and then just extra annoying that neither Ferrari nor, in particular, Mercedes wanted to risk anything and try a 2-stopper. OK, so it worked for both in terms of results and points, but so what! A car with 3-4 second extra pace per lap may have got to the front, we’ll now never know. Instead lap after lap of ‘tyre moaning.’
lucifer (@lucifer)
27th May 2018, 20:02
gave it a 3 as well. 1 for daniel riccardo issue, 2 for the utrasoft tyre issue , 3 for the crash. the end
Paul A (@paul-a)
27th May 2018, 18:35
It’s Monaco, the glory and the glitz, the one race that every driver wants to win. From Fangio, Moss and Trintignant, through Brabham and McLaren, Beltoise and Rindt, Senna and Prost, Hill and Rosberg (both fathers and sons), Stewart, Hulme, Schumacher, Villeneuve, more… up to recent F1 history. The most prestigious race on the calendar.
Difficult to overtake, yes; impossible, no. Street circuit, yes; has safety improved, yes. [I was a youngster but helped when Ascari went into the harbour in 1955; I was a marshall — one of the many who suffered from burns — when Bandini had his fatal accident in 1967.]
Again, this is the Monaco GP, maybe the longest standing of all the F1 calendar. I have to rate it a ten, except for Pirelli tyres — so an 8.
Scottie (@scottie)
28th May 2018, 0:22
One could say that Pirelli bought back a classic qualifying tire, like the old days?
You don’t have to rate it a 10, but I thought the tires were good for this race.
Sergei Golyshkin (@zerrega)
27th May 2018, 19:47
Gave it only 1 because of Leclerc brakes. Dull, processional race, Williams shooting itself in both feet with a six barrel machine gun and a cherry on a pie – disgusting shoey in front of Prince Albert and Princess Charlene. Give me a barf barf bag, please. Among all the modern F1 political correctness and politeness why Red Bull can’t hire someone who knows Royal etiquette? I was thinking Ricciardo is not that clueless. Grid girls are banned, drinking from a sweaty shoe is permitted.
Montréalais (@)
28th May 2018, 11:32
That’s all a bit overstated Gospodin Golyshkin. I’m sure their Highnesses have a better sense of humour than you are displaying.
BlueChris (@bluechris)
27th May 2018, 20:01
2, utterly boring and the 1st guys finished exactly as they started.
Without a SC this race is a farce.i dont care for the glamour of it and if you count only MAX with his 2-3 passes because a dominating car started last then i almost felt at sleep.
Maybe if i had the f1 new web access thing and was able to watch onboards that would had changed my mind but the free coverage here on greece was like slotcars racing….i imagine if you watch the race from helicopter it was a proper slotcar event.
nase
28th May 2018, 16:41
@bluechris
Yeah, about that …
It had some sort of stroke halfway through the race and suddenly lost the ability to remember you’re signed in, while also unlearning to let you sign in.
So, I guess the answer to your speculation is a plain “No”.
joe jopling (@jop452)
27th May 2018, 20:13
A 5 for me……it was not exactly a race as the first few cars seemed to finish as per the qualifying the day before. Monaco as a circuit is just no good for overtakes,(although am not knocking the bravery/skill of the drivers) and certainly not designed for the modern F1…..should be run as a no points race…..Pleased that Ricciardo hung on to first….and Williams never crashed as much as I thought they would….but were still poor
joe jopling (@jop452)
27th May 2018, 20:19
Forgot to ask….Mercedes said they would not be as strong as they use a longer wheel base car than the others…..does anyone know exactly how much longer their wheel base is to say a Ferrari/Red Bull??
Paul A (@paul-a)
27th May 2018, 21:16
Manufacturers aren’t exactly “public” on design dimensions. Various sources that I have noted over the last few years have as wheelbase, the current SF71H at 3.678m (2017: 3.594) and the W09 at 3.680 (2017: 3.760). Red Bull 2017 was given as 3.557m, but I don’t yet have a 2018 dimension, no reason to think that Adrian Newey changed it significantly. Summary: last year, Mercedes were a good bit longer but have now reduced a tad; Ferrari have lengthened to more or less exactly the shorter Mercedes wheelbase; Red Bull are probably about four inches shorter.
These numbers are subject to caution. If anyone has better insight, please post.
Velocityboy (@velocityboy)
27th May 2018, 20:25
A very boring race. So long as there is only one race on the calendar that we know is going to be boring I’m OK with it (translation, get rid of Hungary) but I think that rather than trying to add road courses, Liberty should think about building some of their own tracks to truly test the cars and drivers. A modern version of the Nordschleife would be a nice start.
Scottie (@scottie)
28th May 2018, 0:19
Has anyone really seen a race from the Nordschleife? It’s not quite all it’s thought to be…
Scottie (@scottie)
28th May 2018, 0:18
“Very Average”, “Dull”, “Hardly any overtakes”, “This isn’t racing”…
You guys are aware it’s ‘Rate the Race’ and not ‘Rate the overtakes’ yeah?
This race had tight battles from the off with Verstappen coming through the field and multiple other trains of cars battling through the race, crashes, and greatly varying strategies. I mean, it’s a shame if you were watching that race and weren’t considering what all that meant. I mean, I’m watching Leclerc’s unfortunate debris scattering race end thinking “Wow, safety car! How’s Dan going to defend that now!!!”. Hindsight is great and he was fine, but so many things can twist any scenario and that’s what suspense in a race is all about.
Anything can happen, and it usually does.
Well, I don’t know what else to say. I thought it was a classic Monaco GP at least.
Scottie (@scottie)
28th May 2018, 0:28
Heh, reading through, I can’t remember seeing a more polarized comments section. I guess at least it means RaceFans gets a broad spectrum of input in its polls and feedback. It seems we have everyone here, from the casual viewer to the oldschool and strategy nerds.
W-K (@w-k)
28th May 2018, 2:07
If a Ferrari driven by a four times world champion cannot pass a wounded Red Bull, that was going 20 kph slower, on the main straight with DRS., then something is very wrong with F1, and this event in Monaco cannot be considered a race.
Jon (@johns23)
28th May 2018, 5:03
Was fairly boring with a hint of anticipation. Not too bad. 3
Esploratore (@esploratore)
28th May 2018, 5:31
Gave it 6 and I see 7 was the most voted currently, with slightly higher %, it was indeed a decently thrilling race for monaco, the only ones who get higher are wet races, and certainly not the worst race of the season, I think it’s similar or better than australia and surely better than spain.
Sergei Golyshkin (@zerrega)
28th May 2018, 6:03
14 out of 32 World Champions including Alberto Ascari, Jim Clark, Nelson Piquet etc. never won Monaco GP. I wish Ricciardo to win WDC (and quit drinking from his shoes) but I fear that he will join the company of Panis, Trulli and Patrese who managed it.
VMaxMuffin (@vmaxmuffin)
28th May 2018, 6:25
Well I for one gave it a 10, and though I know I rate Monaco higher than others usually I am a little surprised by the extreme variations present in these comments.
I gave it 10 because it’s everything I want out of a race – it was intense and I was glued to the screen. Yes there was little overtaking but it wasn’t impossible – Verstappen made some very nice passes and I don’t think it was “impossible” for Vettel to pass the wounded Ricciardo simply due to track design, it was made impossible by problems of his own (tyre graining and temperature). Besides, I don’t watch Monaco for the overtaking. I watch it for the mastery of the drivers to complete the race with treachery at every turn. I don’t want every race to be a Monaco, but one Monaco a year is a unique and special event and a nice change of pace. Yes if this exact race had unfolded on a different circuit it would not have got a 10, but in my opinion that is not the point.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Monaco track-wise in the future, I certainly hope it remains on the calendar forever and doesn’t lose its spirit, though if it was possible to add an extension somewhere to add a long straight. The easiest option would be to move the Nouvelle Chicane further down towards Tabac, where you could get a straight of around 750-800m and probably still be able to get enough speed back up to make tabac at least difficult to take flat out if it no longer required a lift off. Other more radical options would be to extend the track out to the East from La Rascasse or onto the new land they are reclaiming at the North end of the circuit (which would see the cars heading straight on at Portier and coming back to make a left turn in to the Tunnel (I believe this latter option has already been talked about by Prince Albert). I think if you had the exact circuit we currently have but with the addition of one or two straights around 800m in length, maybe a little more, then all the character would be retained (satisfying the “Monaco purists” like me) but adding in a bit more passing opportunity to satisfy everyone else.
Excuse me :D (@square-route)
28th May 2018, 6:59
I might have dozed off for a lap or 2 during the race…Pretty sure I missed nothing.
Mike Williams (@mikejtw)
28th May 2018, 11:37
I feel sure that if I could get my horse and cart to have pole position, then despite all the ‘super technology’ that these cars have , I would become the first single HP winner in history of Monaco. Sorry folks this race should be removed from calendar, until such time as cars become shorter and narrower.
OK I congratlate Daniel on his management of situation, but if he didn’t have all the etra tools now available to modern F1 drivers, I doubt he would have achieved his win.
hairs_
28th May 2018, 14:37
Monaco has actually improved with the advent of internet highlights and clear tv graphics. You can watch it at x32 or x64 fast forward, and miss nothing, particularly when the championship runners don’t want to take a chance anywhere, on anything.
If the best argument in its favour is “it’s Monaco, it’s not supposed to be interesting, what about fangio etc etc etc”, then it’s relying on faded laurels. I don’t see why I should invest my time in it when it doesn’t feel any need to reciprocate. 1.
Richard (@)
29th May 2018, 16:45
Last Sunday was a good day in that it was a true display of the state of affairs in open -wheel racing .
On one hand we had Monaco where the race was over after qualifying had taken place and the cars just SLOWLY followed each other until they had circled the streets the designated number of times.
This showed the world what F1 has basically become : follow the leader with few overtakes .
The viewers also got to see how the rules , like track limits , don’t apply to some drivers ( Max Verstappen and how some teams play dead for other teams whose favor that want to curry ( Force India for Mercedes).
On the flip side was the Indy 500 : a race from the start of qualifying to the last lap of the race proper with no driver or team being treated any different form the others and the outcome not knowable until the very end . drivers fighting for every position , great overtakes and plenty of them with the final move my the race winner with a few laps to go putting him ahead and giving him the victory -you know the way races are supposed to be .
Which event was better for true race fans ?
PJA (@pja)
2nd June 2018, 20:07
I only gave the race a rating of 3.75.
It was almost a stereotypical processional Monaco Grand Prix, although it had a couple of moments which added a bit of uncertainty, they did not last that long, but they did enough to raise my rating slightly.
When the problem developed on Ricciardo’s power unit, the initial assumption was that he would have to retire and again be denied a win at Monaco after doing everything right, but it soon became clear it was not a race ending problem even if it did cost him some power.
If you are going to have car problems such as that the best place to have them is at Monaco as even with the loss of power Ricciardo suffered there was never the sense that Vettel would be able to get past, Vettel may have pushed when he initially found out Ricciardo had a problem but after that he seemed to back off.
The other factor which added a bit of uncertainty was whether the leading drivers would be able to make their tyres last or if they would have to stop again. However they managed to avoid having to make a second pit stop by driving quite a bit off the pace to conserve their tyres, safe in the knowledge that unless they made a big mistake they can lap Monaco a few seconds off the pace and not worry about being overtaken.
Of all the circuits F1 visits Monaco is probably the one I have the lowest expectations for, so I was not really disappointing by the race as I expect Monaco to be boring.
In my opinion Monaco is not helped by the fact that the TV footage it is still produced by the local broadcaster as I do not think they do a great job. Granted, no matter who was in control of the TV broadcast the race was never going to be a thriller but it could be better.