Herbert agrees with Domenicali, tips Monaco GP for major F1 shift
Johnny Herbert - Photo: Race Pictures
A filmmaker with a soft spot for Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen and above all, Tazio Nuvolari and Ayrton Senna, is also a diehard Formula One fan since the age of 4 (mid-90's). An avid researcher of the past of Grand Prix Racing since before it was even named F1, and with a thirst for knowledge of the ins and outs of the actuality of the sport, as well as for the technical aspects that define it, is a member of GPblog since 2023, where he has put his love of racing to good use.
Former FIA Steward Johnny Herbert has agreed with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali's comments on shorter races, and targets Monaco GP as candidate for the major change.
The start of the 2025 Monaco GP. Photo source: Race Pictures
"I think it would intensify it and thereby produce even better races than we've got today,"- Johnny Herbert
"Monaco is maybe another one, where a shorter race could work better," Herbert said. "I think it would intensify it and thereby produce even better races than we've got today.
"I do agree with him [Domenicali] because I think there are races that are far too long. I remember when I was doing my TV stuff, when you looked at the TV figures, they're there at the beginning, there's a drop off in the middle, and then they come back at the end for the climax."
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He continued: "But if you squeeze that, then I think you'll get the attention from the viewer there throughout, because you can't go away, because there is potential for something to happen."
"If there is a sprint race weekend, could you have two races of a similar distance. Maybe that's another way of doing it at the same time and that may be more appealing to those race fans," he concluded.
Recently Domenicali shared an idea to shorten the length of the races, alluding to the attention span in younger audiences. F1 under Liberty Media's direction has tried - and succeeded- in reeling in the young demographic to the sport, suing Netflix and social media as its cornerstones.
Why the Monaco GP was targeted by Herbert
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Due to the size and weight of the current crop of F1 cars, and the ever-narrowing nature of the twisty street track's layout, overtaking is nearly impossible, so any position reshuffle usually comes about due to strategy, which has led to the legendary race being labeled often as 'a procession'.
This 'status', has prompted various ideas to make the race exciting. The FIA attempted one of them during this year's edition by way of a two mandatory pitstop rule, which did not yield the expected results, as teams used both cars to protect their positions by slowing rivals down, which caused the race around the principality to come under further attack.
However, faith in the race has not been foregone by Formula One as the Monaco Grand Prix was issued a renewal which will see it take a place in the calendar for many more years to come.
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