16/04/2022
NEWS STORY
The president of the Automobile Club de Monaco has dismissed claims that the addition of events like Las Vegas and Miami to the F1 calendar could signal the end of the iconic race in the Principality.
Barely had the Las Vegas race been announced that Zak Brown was opining that the deal meant a long-term threat to Monaco.
"Monaco always stood for the most glamorous part of Formula One," the American told Reuters. "I think Miami, Singapore, Las Vegas are starting to add some pretty glamorous markets.
"Monaco needs to come up to the same commercial terms as other grands prix," he warned, "and also maybe needs to work with ways they can adapt their track because as our cars have become bigger, the racing has become more difficult.
"You do need to take into consideration history," he admitted, "but then I think you need to take into consideration how's the show that it puts on. There is also an element, which shouldn't drive our decisions but should be part of our decisions, of what's the economic contribution to the sport.
"I'd much rather have Monaco than not, but just like the sport is bigger than any one driver or team, I think it's bigger than any one grand prix."
At a meeting of the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) marshals, its president, Michel Boeri, was keen to dismiss Brown's suggestion.
"I would like to touch on what was recently in the press, where it was written that we may encounter difficulties after this 2022 edition, meaning as soon as next year, in organizing our Grand Prix," he is quoted as saying by Auto Hebdo.
"It was suggested that the fees demanded by Liberty Media are too high for Monaco, and therefore it will no longer host the race in the future," he added.
"This is untrue," he insisted. "We are still in talks with them, and we now expect to reach a deal and sign a contract. I do not know if the contract will cover 3 or 5 years, but that's a detail."
As we said at the time of Brown's comments, Monaco remains the jewel in the crown as far as the teams are concerned, not so much for the racing but because it is where some of their best commercial deals are agreed. Indeed, there is talk that Monaco was used by F1 bosses as leverage in its negotiations with the teams, who were given the stark choice, 'agree to an additional race or we drop Monaco'.
In recent days a 'former race promoter', and close friend of Pitpass, shared their thoughts.
"The very idea of causing the Monaco people a sleepless night because of Vegas is truly stupid," they said. "The only times someone tried to put pressure on Monaco it was over TV rights about 45 years ago and the man pressuring was a now retired Englishman of considerable skill.
"It was the only time that I know of when he did not succeed," they added. "Similarly, Charles de Gaulle tried to push the Prince’s father and so did Onassis... with little result."
Of course, nobody knows the value of Monaco better than marketing guru Brown, however, he was clearly wearing his Liberty Media hat on that particular day.