Formula 1 | Vettel laments the end of Thursday in Monaco: ‘It was fun, so don’t do it anymore’
Next year, the Monaco Grand Prix will change format: the “off” day of Friday will no longer be appropriate, because F1 will run well from Friday to Sunday. Thursday driving, a historic compromise found to allow local traders to fill the cash registers for more days, will disappear.
And the extinction of this tradition was greeted very freshly by the pilots in the paddock. Fernando Alonso considers for example “That having a day less in Monaco, I don’t think it’s good. “
And not for reasons linked to tradition: also for commercial reasons, recalls the Alpine pilot.
“Each team has a different agenda, a different marketing schedule. It’s a weekend that’s also useful for sponsors and things like that. “
“Obviously this year with COVID we haven’t had a lot of marketing activity. But if we hope that next year will be a little more normal, it was a day for the sponsors as well. “
“So I guess Thursday we’ll have more activities, and then from Friday we focus on the track. “
Sebastian Vettel is even more disappointed than Fernando Alonso. This lover of F1 history does not understand why the sport decides to do away with anything that seems distracting or special in its heritage. Of course, he says he addresses his regrets in the tone of banter, but we still feel that if the Aston Martin F1 driver had had the choice, he would have kept this driving Thursday.
“It was fun to have a day off, not to party, but to have a little more time to prepare. “
“It was a bit of a Monaco thing. The fun stuff is dying anyway, which is probably why it boils down to three days. It used to be fun, so don’t do it anymore. “
“In general, I don’t know if it’s true [que les choses amusantes sont en train de mourir], I just said it because it was fun to say. I have no other idea in mind. “
“There are probably things that were more once, but there are also things that are more always now than they were before, so I think that’s a compromise. “
“I don’t know why you are changing that, in Monaco it worked, it was just the exception of Monaco. Either way, we’re going to adapt and I don’t think you’re going to notice. “
Lance Stroll thinks about the mechanics
Lance Stroll signaled a slightly different point of view: with one day less attendance, mechanics can spend an extra day with theirs. In an annual calendar of 23 courses next year, that’s always taken.
“It’s nice to be there for the weekend. The energy that surrounds the whole weekend is always a lot of fun. It’s a special race. “
“I think at the same time it gives the guys, mechanics, engineers and everyone another day at home with this very intense schedule that we have. “