Grand Prix of Monaco This article is over 6 months old The F1 CEO: Bernie Ecclestone considers axing Grand Prix of Monaco to boost attendances The Grand Prix of Monaco will be a three-day event in 2022, according to the F1 chief executive, Bernie Ecclestone. Photograph: Paul Hanna/Reuters
The Grand Prix of Monaco is in danger of disappearing off the calendar, the F1 chief executive has admitted.
Bernie Ecclestone has been discussing a three-day race with the organisers, and accepts it has a long way to go if it is to compete with rival events.
Chelsea boy wonder Olivier Giroud leaves rivals ‘no choice’ but to pay up Read more
But he insists the sport’s bosses have no wish to see it disappear entirely and will leave the decision entirely up to the event’s organisers and fans.
Ecclestone told France Match, published in Monaco: “It is a real concern. I think this will happen to Monaco. It is a way of generating revenue.
“When I came here in 1981 there were 25,000 people. Today there are more than 300,000, although they don’t behave as well. They flock to the races and they buy everything. At the end of the week there is no reason to go out. So the three-day races are a way of income.”
But it is understood Ferrari, who have supported the track in recent years, would be open to dropping their backing for the track if it meant the Grand Prix of Monaco remained, at least in its current form.
There are also significant questions about whether the general public has a taste for a three-day event. The Grand Prix of France was scrapped earlier this year due to poor attendances and, despite being at the same venue as the Monaco race, it was unable to survive financially.
Bernie Ecclestone is a giant of the F1 circus but the longer he keeps his grip on it, the bigger a giant he becomes | Robert Kitson Read more
The last three-day event to take place on the current calendar was in Barcelona in 2013, with the last race in Portugal, just outside the principality, in 2014.
Last week, an update was released for the Italian Grand Prix, adding Maranello to the calendar for 2020. The contract is for only three years and is set to run out at the end of 2021.