Formula 1 News: Series in talks to raise Monaco’s annual race fee

(GMM) Monaco, arguably the most unique and famous of all Formula 1 races, is the latest European event under pressure to remain on the annual calendar.

With Liberty Media receiving big-money offers from potential non-European venues, and yet reluctant to expand the calendar beyond 24 races, many existing events – like Monza, Imola, Barcelona and others – are at risk of losing their F1 status.

Even Monaco is not sacrosanct, according to Bloomberg.

“Liberty Media … is seeking additional funds from the principality of Monaco as part of advanced talks for a new contract to extend the historic car race beyond 2025,” the financial news agency reports.

Once upon a time, Monaco didn’t even pay an annual race fee, although Bloomberg claims the event is now charged $20 million a year – the lowest of all current promoters.

Monaco’s current contract runs only until next year, and under the new terms, the event lost the right to organize its own TV coverage and other perks, like the fact that the first day of practice used to be on a Thursday.

Bloomberg continued: “A spokesperson for Formula 1 declined to comment on the current talks, but said the company is not considering pulling out of Monaco.”

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This despite the Monaco circuit being totally inadequate for today’s F1 cars. It is so Mickey Mouse it is impossible to pass – just a parade in the streets. The only thing missing are the floats and marching bands.