ACM relieved by Monaco GP extension: "In the future, there will only be two to three Grands Prix left in Europe"

A great sigh of relief must have run through the minds and the premises of the Automobile Club of Monaco last Thursday, at the signing of the extension of the contact linking the Monaco Grand Prix to Formula 1The Monaco GP, the jewel of the discipline, has managed to secure its place on the calendar until 2031, with the concession of a one-week shift in the organization of the event (early June instead of late May).

"The bicycle was not crushed by the bulldozers"

This long-term contract, almost undreamed of just a few months ago, ensures the Monaco GP a stable position and time to reflect in order to make changes to enhance the spectacle on the track, a crucial element that has been missing in recent years. For Michel Boeri, the president of the Automobile Club de Monaco, the extension of the Monaco Grand Prix – in the face of fierce competition from other more exotic and more lucrative destinations – could be an exception among the European rounds, for which he predicts a rather bleak future.

"In the face of the bulldozers, the bicycle that I [represented] was not crushed, that's already not bad, he told Monaco Info. Compared to the other European Grand Prix we have some small advantages, but above all, there is no alternation. We will be there every year. Not only will many European Grand Prix disappear, but those that remain will be in alternation. I believe that with the demand that the F1, there will only be two or three Grand Prix left in Europe, with interest shifting to China and other continents." 

The question of The alternation between Grand Prix has recently come back on the table thanks (or because of) Stefano Domenicali. During a conference with Liberty Media investors, the president of Formula 1 raised the idea of ​​rotations between several European Grands Prix, in order to reduce organizational costs and allow new destinations to host the discipline. Several candidates are knocking on F1's door (Saudi Arabia in Qiddiya, Thailand, Rwanda, South Africa, etc.) but the maximum number of Grands Prix authorized according to the Concorde Agreements is 25 races, while the 2024 calendar already has 24 rounds.

Six-month negotiations to extend Monaco GP

The Monaco GP therefore escaped an alternation that would have seemed quite unnatural for such an emblematic event on the calendar. Moreover, despite a long-term extension, Michel Boeri acknowledges that the negotiations were not easy with the Formula 1 authorities and in particular its director, Stefano Domenicali.

"It's a 'I love you, I don't.' The negotiations lasted at least six months. The problem was that as soon as we had a verbal agreement, we had to finalize it with a 60-70 page contract, written by American lawyers, and there was not a fly flying, we had to be careful, explained the president of the ACM. It was a legal battle that went beyond the small clashes we had with Stefano Domenicali, who defended interests that were not mine. All that is in the past, it is swept away: we must now look to the future and our successors will have plenty of time to adapt and get up to date.

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