Maintaining Monaco on the F1 calendar: “We will have to see how the concessions can be respected”, according to Michel Boeri
A new contract has been signed for three years with Formula 1, what feeling prevails?
The case is closed. It is signed under the conditions which are those which we have accepted, knowing that we safeguard the essential of our prerogatives and that certain things which have been said, such as a future control of spectators on the balconies and terraces are not materially feasible . It has to be clear and everyone has to stop worrying. On the other hand, there remain some points of detail like the sales of wild t-shirts which cannot take place. We are imposed certain models and logos but these are small things compared to what we risked.
Have these negotiations been tested personally?
It is true that it was not easy and contrary to what was written, by default of translation, we do not come out of there “proud”. We come out of there at best relieved and happy to have finished.
You did not lack arguments in these negotiations but were your interlocutors not in a position of strength from the start, knowing that Monaco could not envisage losing its Grand Prix?
The moment it became known that the Grand Prix was a must in Monaco, the poker game we were playing was skewed. It could have been better negotiated or less well negotiated but the but is reached knowing that we are not the only ones in the competition. France has been ousted, Germany theoretically no longer has a Grand Prix, Italy will have to make an effort, Belgium is on borrowed time. We pulled out of the game, perhaps not very gloriously, but we’re here to talk about it and that’s already not bad. Let’s not forget that five or six Grand Prix possibilities have not been awarded and will only be awarded at a level of financial commitment that we can no longer bear.
“We were not the most mistreated”
The contract covers the next three years, where other countries – which have put huge sums on the table – have committed themselves for ten years, what should be deducted from this duration?
The three years were not imposed on us, it was my choice. Many of the clauses that are imposed on us today must be reviewed because they are not materially realizable. So I preferred to imagine that in three years, having tasted the joys and the difficulties of the organization in Monaco, these gentlemen of Formula 1 will perhaps return to feelings of flexibility. What is desirable for them as for us since nobody wants to be in the scandal of a failed organization.
Clauses are unworkable?
It’s a figment of the imagination to think that every point of the contract has to be done in Monaco. Having seen the difficulty of these clauses, we believe that they may be very happy themselves to modify the contract.
Can we talk about a contract type?
There is a type of contract that is due to each organizer. The contracts are secret but we didn’t do too badly. We weren’t the worst treated.
Will hotels, boats, terraces be punctured on their commercial activities?
There is no state secret there. In the general contract applicable to all the Grand Prix, it is said that any commercial action that takes place in sites around the Grand Prix will be considered as a commercial operation, since they come to enjoy a show and they charge very expensive terraces. But the right to property is imprescriptible, inalienable and untouchable. I do not see who could come to an individual to prevent people from returning. We will see with use but for us it is not essential and we have never taken advantage of it. From now on certain controllers will be controlled by the owners of the F1 but in this specific case of the terraces and balconies, no that will not happen. There are other little things that will be supported.
“I believe that the impact of this contract on individuals will be nil”
What will be the economic impact then?
I believe that the impact of this contract on individuals will be nil, which may not be the case on some resellers and related activities. But 90% of the induced receipts from the Grand Prix are verified for at least three years. The recipes may even be higher, we don’t know.
Negotiations continue…
There was a time when we were dealing between Europeans and we knew how far we could go in negotiations, with matters of tradition that mattered. There was a way of thinking about the Grands Prix, the source of which is European. This was the case under Ecclestone. We fought but we managed. Let’s not talk about Balestre, but we also managed. It was smoother with Mosley. And with Todt we had no problem. Today, the question is no longer possible on the same affective and historical relationship. There is a company that is there to make money. It’s not outrageous, but the more they earn, the better off they are. If a Grand Prix offers five times what we can offer, normally it wins.
You want to provide your own TV images, is this called into question?
In a relatively subtle way. All their media resources are in London and they have a few small antennas but don’t need the 52 cameras that we need for the E-Prix and the Historic Grand Prix. So the number of cameras with us has been extremely reduced and they will bring their on-board cameras, which today form the bulk of what they retransmit. Everything will be mixed in London and what we have obtained is to have a representative from our country who will be the associate producer. He will not have the controllers but will be associated. They will have the achievement on the positioning of the particular advertisements.
What happens to hospitality specific to the Automobile Club? Access to the Race Direction, the Belvedere…
It’s not touched.
And on the operational aspect in Race Direction?
There will be the same system as usual, with the same managers.
There will be no forced cohabitation?
In life, there is regulation, sensitivity and intelligence. Everyone belongs to a regiment but why would we turn our backs? Especially when the common goal is to succeed. This hasn’t always been the case with the race directors, it’s true, but it’s logical that we are involved at home for a matter of knowledge of the terrain. We are operational, then we add business and legal problems that we were not used to. In fact sports.
“The Prince approached certain people to remind
that the dialogue would never be stopped”
What was the role of Prince Albert II in the negotiations?
The Prince approached certain people to remind them that the dialogue would never be stopped and that we would not arrive at a situation of conflict and blockage. This allowed us to conclude quickly on an interesting price, with some concessions but once again we will have to see on the ground how they can be respected and achieved.
This Thursday morning in the press, we could read that you could “abdicated” and that Formula 1 had “swept the bet”…
They don’t know anything about what happened. It’s buzzing to say the casino jumped but it doesn’t matter. Everyone knows that Monaco has always fought. The proof is that since 1950 the Grand Prix is still there. Not so many circuits have survived.
Quite honestly, I have no susceptibility. I have a mission to complete.
Has the price of the set increased by how much?
There is a differential of 1 to 4 on the prices of the trays. And we’re not the highest paying Grand Prix [sourire].
“There will be 3 Grands Prix in 2024”
The new F1 contract has no impact on the holding of the E-Prix and the Historic Grand Prix?
No. The F1 and the E-Prix will take place every year and the Historic, every other year. So there will be all three in 2024.
Are you leaving with the same team for the years to come?
It is partly renewed, we must prepare our succession. I consulted a lot for my own position and I don’t know if the recruitment will be done from outside or from inside. I still want to say that I am happy that this signature saves the jobs of 60 people. People provided for decades.
In three years it will (already) be necessary to renegotiate. With you ?
They will start again without me. The time passed very quickly and I stayed because I liked it. We had a certain autonomy, a freedom to undertake, we could invent and modify things. Now we are framed. At the moment when one is constrained, it tires.