F1: Seen in Monaco

Some interesting characters were spotted at the Monaco GP over the weekend, leading to some interesting speculation.

Jerry Jones – Dallas Cowboys NFL Team owner, rumored to be looking to get involved in F1, possibly in a big way. If we had to guess, he’ll buy into the COTA facility in Austin so has another place to entertain his rich friends. As we wrote on these pages elsewhere, at 79 years old (he turns 80 in October) with somewhere between $8 and $10 billion in his bank account, he has money to burn. It’s worth noting that Jones’ “fun” ventures” are usually tied to business ventures, so him being at Monaco is likely more than just a vacation.

Steve Wynn – Big Casino owner in Las Vegas, there to see how a street race is done in F1, ahead of F1 coming to Las Vegas in 2023.  Of course the problem is that there is no space in Monaco for a proper F1 venue The Paddock is like an alley. Everything is too narrow and so the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) employs people whose only job is to move people along. And if you thought the paddock was cramped, the racetrack is even worse – you cannot pass anyone, even if they are 5 seconds per lap slower.  And the spectators in the expensive grandstands that only hold 24,000 or so, the view is very limited. But, for most of the world, getting into the Monaco GP is just the coolest thing…But for those of us who know, it’s really not.

Flavio Briatore – former Benetton team boss, surrounded by his usual cadre of former models, and still trying to get himself involved again in F1 after his inauspicious exit from the sport over 10 years go.  No one seems to want him.

William Hornbuckle, the CEO  and President of MGM Resorts International, one of the biggest casino operators in Las Vegas, seeing how things are done (badly)  in Monaco so they can do it better in Las Vegas.

Peter de Putron –  founder of G Research, an algorithmic trading fund, and associated companies. De Putron grew up in Guernsey, where his father was a local politician. He is regarded as a very private individual and rumored to be behind Dorilton Capital LLC, the firm that bought the Williams F1 team.

Michael Boeri – Automobile Club de Monaco president, doing his best to get F1 to renew their contract for the race.  He even had Bernie Ecclestone, who wasn’t at the race, phone up Reuters and tell them “it would be a mistake to make the race biennial. Whether it’s the worst race or the best race or whatever, it’s one of the crown jewels,” he said. Fact is the racing around Monaco is horrible and there is not much that can be done to expand the circuit as its land locked with buildings all around it.

Piero Ferrari (shown above)  – he second and only living son of Enzo Ferrari, who owns 10? of the Ferrari company.  There to see his team get outsmarted by Red Bull

I’m sure there were many more.

Mark C. reporting for AutoRacing1.com