“When You Think of F1, You Think Of…”: Mesmerized Daniel Ricciardo Reveals Most “Prestigious” Race Amid Uncertainty

“It’s Redemption Day for Daniel Ricciardo!” It was a big day for the Honey Badger after the agony received in 2016. Two years after losing the win in the principality, Daniel Ricciardo pulled off a heist for years to come. Winning in Monaco has been the dream for many drivers. If a driver can win on the streets of Monaco, he is a revered racer for generations. Although, this charm of the Crown Jewel of F1 may cease to exist in the future. But, Ricciardo begs to differ, backing the Monaco GP to stay in F1.

Speaking on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Daniel revealed, “For a driving experience, I think Monaco, that is our Crown Jewel. Yeah, it’s a staple. To win that, it’s so prestigious. It’s glamorous.” Winning the 2018 race in Monte Carlo was perhaps Danny Ric’s finest moment in F1.

So, the race in Monaco certainly mesmerizes him, and has a soft spot. He further added, “It’s kind of what you would, I would say when you think of F1, you think of the Monaco Grand Prix. The yachts, the celebrities, the race it’s everything. That will stay.”

Although, there are several reasons that the Monaco GP is facing uncertainty over its future. The Circuit de Monaco is probably the most difficult track to overtake. The Aussie driver and his colleagues know and often cite this concern. Still, Daniel feels there is maybe a special vibe about winning in the principality that cannot be matched.

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Ricciardo’s opinion that Monaco represents F1 does hold value to a great extent. But on the other side, we cannot ignore the glaring issues about the event in the principality. Be it about the racing and overtaking or the broadcasting of the race weekend, the problems are not helping Monaco’s cause.

Is Daniel Ricciardo right about the Monaco GP – Is it truly the Iconic Race of F1?

When Daniel Ricciardo won for Red Bull in Monaco, the vibe was certainly crazy. It felt like a festival, with Ricciardo being at the center of all celebrations. While viewers don’t mind liking the festive celebratory vibes, the racing is a huge problem on the narrow streets of Monte Carlo.

Considering F1 is pushing to get more wheel-to-wheel racing action in the sport, Monaco’s place on the calendar does not sit well. Especially in its current form. The tight twisty corners of the circuit don’t allow modern F1 cars to pass. Besides this, the local broadcasting crew has also received a lot of hate for not covering important elusive battles happening.

Either way, we do not see overtakes in Monaco and if we do not give the handful ones the spotlight, then it kills off the race’s watching experience. People often label the Monaco race as a “procession” of 20 cars. No one wishes to see a race without much overtaking.

So what is the solution to this overtaking problem of the principality? Looking at the limited real estate of Monaco, there is little to no scope for making any changes to the track. Anyway, every year half of the country becomes a race track. Plus, there is the Mediterranean Sea right there beside the track. Therefore, making any track modifications may be a humongous engineering challenge, considering those are public roads.

The cars certainly are one area that can be improved upon. Since the past decade, cars have got bigger, and it does not aid in overtaking the narrow streets of Monaco. So perhaps making the cars smaller may help to some extent.

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The essence of the Monaco GP has been quite different. Daniel Ricciardo and his fellow drivers have raced there for years now. So any sort of changes to the weekend format or the iconic corners of the track may backfire as well. What do you think? Should they make any changes to the Monaco GP? Or do you like it the way it is currently?