Monaco Grand Prix remains one of the most controversial races in the whole Formula 1 calendar: despite its historic significance, the race simply isn't fun to watch, and isn't fun to drive, as most drivers complain year after year. Even with rule changes forcing drivers to pit stop twice, the Grand Prix is mostly decided on Saturday, during the qualifying race: in 2024, the top 10 drivers finished in the same order they qualified.
Max Verstappen, known for being one of the most sharp-tongued racers in the grid, joked that the race almost felt like Mario Kart, comparing the rule of changing tyres as an arbitrary rule, and the next thing could be "throwing bananas or racing through a slippery surface".
"You can't race here anyway, so it doesn't matter what you do. One stop, 10 stops. Even at the end I was in the lead, but my tyres were completely gone, and you still can't pass. I think nowadays, with an F1 car, you can just pass a Formula 2 car around here.
"We were almost doing Mario Kart. Then we have to install bits on the car. Maybe you can throw bananas around? Yeah, I don't know. slippery surface?", the Dutch champion told Sky Sports (via Motorsport).
George Russell: "99% of people in Monaco are sipping champagne on a yacht, they don't really care"
George Russell was also blunt, saying that for most drivers, "qualifying is the most exhilarating moment of the weekend", suggesting jokingly that maybe they should get ride of the race on Sunday and simply make two qualifying races:
"You do one on Saturday, one on Sunday and the guy who qualifies on pole gets some points and gets a little trophy. The one on Sunday gets some more points, because that's what you guys enjoy watching the most. And 99% of the other people in Monaco are here sipping champagne on a yacht, so they don't really care."