F1 chief Stefano Domenciali abandons hopes of remodelling Monaco circuit

Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali has abandoned his hopes of remodelling Monaco’s famous street circuit after plans to do so were strongly rejected by the organisers.

The thorny subject of a lack of overtaking revealed itself again on Sunday, when only rain saved a processional race from the constraints of the principality’s tight streets.

Christian Horner, boss of winner Max Verstappen’s Red Bull team, hailed the venue a jewel in the sport’s crown but spoke of the need to make modifications to keep it up to date.

He called for the the first corner, Sainte Devote, to be slowed down or for the circuit to be extended to include a significant braking zone.

But Mail Sport has been told that those plans are dead in the water, despite former F1 executive Ross Brawn having drawn up proposals to affect change. His initiatives were knocked back by the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM), who run the event.

F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali has abandoned his hopes of remodelling Monaco’s famous street circuit

There have been calls to keep the famous track up to date with modern modifications

An F1 spokesman said: ‘It’s been something we have tried to change in the past and have pushed for that, but unfortunately the situation there and the limitations are very restrictive.’

It is understood that so trenchant are the ACM that a revamp is not even due to form part of renegotiation ahead of the race’s last edition under its current contract, which expires after the 2025 running.

Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has managed expectations over their major upgrade package, introduced in Monaco. 

Helped by a decent pit-lane call as rain fell to move on to intermediate tyres, Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and George Russell fifth, though a definite interpretation of the hoped-for improvements is deferred until next week’s race on the more representative Barcelona track.

However, Wolff ruled out a night-and-day revival, saying: ‘We need to be careful. We will collect more data in Spain. I don’t expect us to clear Ferrari and Aston Martin there, but it is about understanding what this car does and how we set it up.

‘We are good at grinding away. Last year the package was terrible at the beginning of the year but we won a race in Interlagos, so we will get there.’