Formula 1 has been trying to land a race in Las Vegas for decades, and now it has succeeded. We even got a fun grand prix out of it.
So, assuming the commercial benefit to F1 is as great as it is supposed to be, have we just found a modern Monaco GP – and one that is fit for 21st century F1 purposes?
The Monaco race has been a non-existent spectacle on the circuit for a long time. But it has always maintained its place thanks to its history, a vague ‘crown jewel’ status and its commercial value in F1.
The traditional line that was ruled out was that Monaco GP week was where sponsorship deals were made and where existing sponsors felt like heroes, committing to their support for a longer period of time.
But people with their fingers on F1’s commercial pulse have claimed in recent years that Monaco no longer provided that.
Sure, sponsors might like to be wined and dined on yachts, but the business world has moved on and deals aren’t done with handshakes in the harbor now.
If the business world has finally moved on, it’s fair to say the sports world did so a long time ago.
F1 overtook the streets of Monte Carlo decades ago. It’s a well-worn view that the Monaco GP would never happen today if someone came up with it as a new idea.
But is the fact that it exists forever reason enough to keep it?
Taking the Grand Prix of Las Vegas, I felt that F1 has found a modern alternative to Monaco. It’s an event in the heart of a bustling, money-filled area, and every team talked about the commercial benefit of being there. Just like back in the day with Monaco.
For some, the idea that Monaco’s place on the F1 calendar should be vulnerable at all is sacrilege. To remove it would be to tear a hole in the fabric of what F1 should be, and the suggestion that glitzy Las Vegas could fill its place is unthinkable.
And perhaps if any race feels threatened by the success of Las Vegas, it should be Miami. This was also overkill, and has yet to produce much noticeable action on the track. Much of the pre-event fear of Las Vegas failing to live up to its F1 billing was based on the recent experience we all had of Miami being a complete disappointment. I wouldn’t keep Miami. But the Las Vegas-Monaco comparison is more direct.
The world moves fast and not everything can keep up. Certainly, when you arrive in Monaco, you can feel the history. The first time I went there in 2011, upon arrival I walked the entire circuit while the roads were open to traffic. I remembered the classic moments (there were, at least) from my childhood, and I had fights.
None of this gets past the fact that the fight is pointless. Unless it rains or something else weird happens, the cars will run in the order they start with zero chance of passing.
Overtaking doesn’t have to be easy, but it has to be possible. And in Monaco, it is not. Unless you’re talking about the Formula E race.
Time moves on. We get over the things we love and leave them in the past, where they belong.
This is where Monaco is now. I love the history of F1 and appreciate Monaco’s involvement in it. But that’s not reason enough to keep it on F1’s ever-expanding calendar.
Las Vegas ticks the boxes Monaco no longer can.