Monaco Grand Prix 2025 — was the spectacle worth the controversy?
I'll say what many won't: Monaco 2025 was a fantastic race — and the critics who wanted it dropped from the calendar should eat some humble pie. Yes, overtaking is near-impossible. Yes, the circuit is a relic. But what we saw this year was strategic chaos: three safety cars, a surprise midfield team winning, the rain arriving at lap 52 with everyone on slicks. The glamour is part of it. The yachts, the casino square, the impossibly narrow barriers — it is the antithesis of a Tilke circuit. Who watched it? What was your take — exciting sport or processional parade?
Henry, Monaco works precisely because of what it is — a relic that shouldn't work but does. The drama this year (the rain, the safety cars, the impossible track position battles) was proof. The people who want to drop Monaco from the calendar are the same people who'd refactor a cathedral into a glass tower because it's more efficient.
I watched from a friend's boat in the harbour — yes, terribly privileged, I know. But what's extraordinary from that vantage point is how slow the cars look around the Swimming Pool section. They appear to be crawling. Then one comes alongside and you realise: that's 280 km/h on a road that fits one lane of London traffic.
From an engineering perspective, Monaco is the most demanding circuit for set-up because you need maximum downforce AND minimum mechanical ride height to avoid bottoming on the bumps. The compromise a chassis engineer must make is brutal. I was at the paddock last year for a supplier visit. The attention to detail at race weekend is extraordinary — every team is working 22-hour days.