26 May 2024 , 18:47
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Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen found a rare agreement as they both complained after a dull Monaco Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc won his home race for the first time and there was plenty of joy for the Ferrari driver up and down the pit lane. Other than that and a dramatic first lap smash, though, there were few incidents of note throughout the race.
After the excitement of qualifying on the tight streets of Monte Carlo, the race was devoid of action and overtaking. Leclerc won from Oscar Piastri, while every car in the top 10 also finished in the same place they started.
A radio message from Verstappen during the Grand Prix summed up how many spectators felt about it. He complained: "F*** me, this is really boring. Should have brought my pillow."
And the Dutchman followed that up after the race by pointing out that things have got even worse at Monaco in recent years with this current generation of cars, which are bigger and heavier than ever. He said: "We are driving literally half-throttle on the straights, in a higher gear than you would normally do, four seconds off the pace.
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"That's not really racing. We all know in Monaco what is like. In the last few years it is even more difficult with the width of the cars but it is nothing new. I would like to change if possible a few little things because it would make will make it more exciting.
"Overall the weekend is really cool but it's the Sunday race that is a little bit boring. The scenery is still great but if we could find a way to race better that would be my preferred solution. And if they asked for my opinion I would try to see what is possible."
Hamilton was pleased with the progress shown by Mercedes over the course of the weekend but agreed with Verstappen that it was something of a snooze-fest on Sunday. Told after the race that the event had been panned by fans on social media, the seven-time F1 champion suggested a possible change for the future.
He said: "It was non-eventful. Everyone drove so slowly. It didn't matter what tyre you were on. We were driving seconds off the pace. I don't know what it was like watching but I am sure people were falling asleep.
"I can only imagine. We have to find ways of spicing it up a bit more, maybe three mandatory stops?"