Monaco, grand-prix racing’s most iconic venue, has signed up to the Formula One calendar until 2031 in a six-year extension worth more than £150million, Mail Sport can reveal this morning.
It is understood that amicable negotiations ended this week with the principality agreeing to pay £25m a year – double their previous annual contribution.
The date of the race moves from the end of May to the first week of June from 2026.
However, the track layout around Monaco’s ribbon of tarmac will not change. Formula One bosses have accepted that it is impossible to remodel the circuit despite the iconic venue struggling to offer overtaking opportunities given the larger size of modern F1 cars.
Prince Albert, Monaco’s ruler, and Stefano Domenicali, F1’s chief executive, met this week in Monaco, along with long-serving head of the influential Automobile Club de Monaco Michel Boeri, to complete the deal.
The iconic Monaco Grand Prix will remain on the F1 circuit until 2031 in a deal extension
Charles Leclerc won the Grand Prix this year and it will take place in early June in future
Prince Albert II of Monaco met with Stefano Domenicali, F1’s chief executive this week
It was a simpler task than the previous renegotiation that saw Monaco lose the right to produce its own TV coverage in the last couple of years.
Monaco have traditionally displayed Tag Heuer advertising, something they can do again without conflicting with global sponsors Rolex because F1 are concluding their long association with the Swiss manufacturer after striking a £1billion deal with LVMH – LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton – the French conglomerate specialising in specialist goods, including Tag. LVMH’s 10-year contracts kicks in next year.
Doemenicali has been keen to maintain a significant footprint in traditional venues as he and owners Liberty Media expand into new territories. A race in Africa remains a target, while South Korea remain keen to see F1 return.
Formula One declined to comment on the renewed Monaco deal this morning, though official confirmation is expected today.
