Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) defended the Monaco Grand Prix in Formula 1 on Friday, “his” GP contested this weekend in the streets of the Principality, threatened with extinction from 2023 in favor of new races.
“I have never seen Monaco without Formula 1 except because of the Covid in 2020. Formula 1 without Monaco is not Formula 1. Formula 1 has a history, has historical circuits like Silverstone, Monza or Monaco and for me they must stay”, he argued to the press on the sidelines of the GP.
Like the Grand Prix of France or Belgium, the Monegasque round is not yet guaranteed to be on the calendar next year, threatened with disappearance in favor of new races, in the United States in particular.
The Formula 1 championship promoter announced in March the arrival of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023, thus marking the third F1 race in the United States for next season after the GPs of Austin and Miami – the first of which edition was disputed at the beginning of May.
Along with Asia and the Middle East, the United States currently represents one of the priority markets for the single-seater world championship, itself being controlled by the American group Liberty Media, which acquired the commercial rights to F1 in 2017.
But Leclerc to defend: “I really think Monaco is one of the best racing circuits, in qualifying there is no place that I like as much as here and no place where the driver can do such a great difference in the result, it is probably the most exciting qualification of the year”.
“I agree that in racing you can change some things here and there to try to make overtaking easier, because the cars have changed and evolved and it might not be the best track for overtaking, but in terms of the challenge for the driver, it’s one of the most difficult challenges for us in the year”.
