If the Monaco Grand Prix was held anywhere other than through the streets of Monte Carlo, it would be rejected out of hand by everyone connected with the Formula One circus.
The road surface leaves a lot to be desired, the width is ludicrous in places, some of the corners are artificially tight, and ‘run-off’ areas are just a state of mind. The pit-lane would not pass an intelligent scrutiny, the paddock is a water-front slum, facilities are primitive and any sort of logical movement about the place is virtually impossible. But, if all the wrongs were righted it would not be Monte Carlo, and without Monte Carlo nobody would want a similar shambles in Nice or Menton.
Apart from being a tax-haven for the rich and a convenient home for international ‘travellers’ of non fixed abode, Monaco thrives on other people’s money – and the world of Formula One is a good customer, the teams causing their sponsors to spend money like it was going out of fashion.
