Lando Norris has slammed fans who are criticising the quality of races offered by the Monaco Grand Prix, stating that the event has always been that way and fans need to “live with it” instead of complaining about the second-oldest race on the calendar.
The 2021 edition was infamously boring outside of Valtteri Bottas‘ horrendous pit-stop, devoid of any action and even when there was some, the TV director notoriously cutaway from it to show Lance Stroll skipping the chicane.
Whilst the 2023 event was thrust into chaos thanks to late rain, it was not a spectacle by any means, only featuring 36 overtakes across 78 laps. It means you’d need to wait around two laps to see anything actually happen.
But McLaren‘s Norris has strong words for anyone complaining about the race that is essentially won after qualifying on Saturday, wondering what they’re actually expecting to happen based on previous examples.
“It’s been like this since Monaco started,” Norris told select members of the media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “It’s just people are a lot more stubborn now and they get frustrated if there isn’t an overtake.
“It’s been like this for 10, 15, 20 years. Nothing’s changed. It’s always been about a race on Saturday and things happen on Sunday, but it’s the same. 10 years ago or 15 years ago, there was hardly any overtakes then, and there still isn’t now, so I don’t think that’s changed.
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“And still, when you have a race like we’ve had over the last few years, when it’s rained on Sunday, it’s actually been quite an exciting race, but that’s just Monaco. That’s just how it’s always been.
“People just need to live with that. It’s just people are more impatient and stubborn nowadays that they get frustrated with that kind of thing, but that’s just Monaco. I think it’s still as special as it’s always been, it still just means as much as it always has for any driver, for every team member, it’s just I’d rather win Silverstone.”
How often are overtakes made at Monaco?
So, Monaco is already a rare event to see any overtakes happen. The 2003 Monaco GP famously had zero overtakes! But when they do happen, how often is it and how often are they captured on the TV for you to see at home?
This data, sourced by Reddit user @catchingisonething, shows the amount of overtakes each year and how many were on TV. It excludes Lap 1 overtakes or those made during a standing restart, and only counts move for position on track. So triggering an undercut doesn’t count, nor does unlapping, spinning off or team orders.
| Year | Overtakes | Shown on TV |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1 | 1 |
| 2001 | 7 | 0 |
| 2002 | 10 | 4 |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | 5 | 2 |
| 2005 | 16 | 8 |
| 2006 | 19 | 5 |
| 2007 | 2 | 1 |
| 2008 | 33 | 13 |
| 2009 | 8 | 6 |
| 2010 | 6 | 5 |
| 2011 | 28 | 10 |
| 2012 | 13 | 4 |
| 2013 | 17 | 7 |
| 2014 | 10 | 8 |
| 2015 | 10 | 3 |
| 2016 | 14 | 7 |
| 2017 | 3 | 1 |
| 2018 | 4 | 3 |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 13 | 2 |
| 2023 | 22 | 12 |
