In Monaco, the Formula 1 race weekend traditionally began on Thursday, with Friday off. Since when has this no longer been the case?
For many decades, Monaco had a special status in the Formula 1 calendar. It was the only Grand Prix with a break between the days of the event: Practice traditionally began on Thursday. There was no Formula 1 racing on Friday, only on Saturday and Sunday.
This special weekend format was the result of Monaco’s long-standing wish to have the race on the long weekend after Ascension Day in order to minimize disruption to normal road and goods traffic in Monaco.
The advantage: on Ascension Day, which is a public holiday, there was less traffic on the roads in Monaco anyway. This made Thursday an ideal day for Formula 1 practice.
Although some supporting series also raced on Friday at the Circuit de Monaco, Formula 1 took a day off as a measure to “promote the economy” in Monaco, so that road and goods traffic could flow unhindered again before the weekend.
Since 2022, Friday has been a race day
That came to an end in 2022: Formula 1 revoked Monaco’s special status. Since then, the classic Grand Prix in the principality has followed the usual format of three consecutive days from Friday to Sunday. Monaco Thursday is now purely a media and PR day for Formula 1 and no longer a practice day.
Other Monaco traditions, such as having its own sponsors and control over TV broadcasting, also had to go: Formula 1 management secured full control over all commercial aspects of the city race, which is now treated like any other Grand Prix in this respect – and may soon lose its traditional May date.
However, Monaco has retained a few peculiarities: since the 1980s, the race distance has been 260 kilometers, which is around 45 kilometers shorter than any other Grand Prix. After crossing the finish line, the top three drivers park their cars directly on the home straight. And at the award ceremony in the Prince’s Box, the trophies are presented first, followed by the national anthems.
More Formula 1 special features
Stefan Ehlen describes other special Monaco rules and curious events from throughout Formula 1 history in his books “Grand Prix History” and “Grand Prix History 2,” including cars that never raced and Formula 1 records that will stand forever.
