Hear me out. Formula 1‘s Monaco Grand Prix needs drastic action, and perhaps IndyCar should be its source of inspiration.
Ah, Monaco. The jewel of the F1 calendar. One of the most prestigious races in the whole of motorsport, and perhaps the most boring.
If we really think about it, when was the last exciting Monaco GP?
2019 is a solid option, where Lewis Hamilton won on well-used Pirelli rubber, but the general consensus is that recent years have not produced an enjoyable race whatsoever.
While purists will turn to the joys of seeing 22 of the world’s best thread around the tightest of tracks, racing is simply not racing without overtakes. The last two editions of the race saw five overtakes between them, as 2025 treated us to just one.
Fans can only attribute any lack of excitement for Sunday’s romp around the Principality to the horrific racing product it serves. However, copying from the series it so often looks down upon could be key to unlocking at least one exciting day at Monaco.
How does oval qualifying work in IndyCar?
If you happen to be one of those who is yet to be an IndyCar convert, consider it!
For those unfamiliar, IndyCar races both on circuits and on ovals.
On circuits, qualifying follows a similar structure to what we know and love in F1, with all cars aiming to progress through a segmented session. At their high-speed ovals, things are a little different.
Each car enters the track one-by-one, in reverse order of their position in the standings. This means that the session starts with those at the back of the pack, building up to a dramatic finale with the big names.
The driver gets two warm-up laps before they embark on their timed running, which consists of two consecutive tours.
A young rookie throws up an early-session time that others struggle to match until the favourite pips them at the last. A veteran produces one of their classics to take the top spot with an insurmountable time. There are plenty of scenarios to imagine thanks to this format.
While IndyCar isolates its drivers on track due to safety concerns, this concept perfectly addresses the traffic issues that qualifying at Monaco so often throws up.
How would oval-style qualifying work in Formula 1?
Evidently, some things would absolutely not translate from the oval format adopted by IndyCar and its other American siblings.
Expecting modern-day F1 cars to embark on four laps in the same run seems particularly ambitious. Not to divert into an entirely different topic, but these are spaceships that require boffins. No more is it a case of simply managing tyre temperatures and wear, but energy levels too.
Seeing just one car on track at any given time may also be quite the jolt to fans, teams, and pundits alike. However, it is not entirely new to F1.
From 2003 to the end of 2005, the circus operated under a one-shot system, albeit with characteristics quite different from the system described here.
Drivers were sent out one-by-one, but would set a lap on both Friday and Saturday. The system was criticised for almost-always disadvantaging at least one driver, but can’t the same be said for nearly every qualifying session at Monaco?
With this in mind, let’s put our thinking caps on and imagine this all-new qualifying format for the Monaco GP.
Saturday’s order will be determined by the pre-weekend Constructors’ Standings, with teams sending out both of their drivers in the same window. It is up to them to give enough distance between the cars, though that is unlikely to be a problem.
Drivers will undertake one warm-up lap before setting a flying lap, using qualifying trim and fuel, and returning to the pits afterwards. There will be no second attempts or chances to rectify an error.
The session progresses routinely, with our usual smattering of television advertising breaks and the suchlike as the grid completes their qualifying efforts.
Why risk a change to the crown jewel of the Formula 1 calendar?
Simply put, it needs it. And with the amount of ill-fated changes in F1 lately, why not try something else?
To continue to be the jewel that it should be, Monaco needs something special. The Principality needs something to set it apart.
F1 needs to cast aside its superiority complex and admit this. In doing so, it needs to take another step away from its high horse and admit it is not as superior to IndyCar as it would like to be. It is okay to see it as an inspirational competitor rather than a nuisance.
The spectacle on a Saturday in America is immense, and it could be too for one weekend a season at Monaco.
This is not merely an opinion from my brain. Fernando Alonso has spoken about the benefits of returning to single-lap qualifying for Monaco, perhaps also learning from his Indy 500 attempts.
The two-time Drivers’ Champion believes that such a change would lead to a more unpredictable grid for street circuit races. At Monaco, this could even mean that there are more overtakes as quicker cars have to carve through the pack.
Carlos Sainz also believes one-shot quali could return, given modern technology means ghost cars could be used to better enhance the viewing experience for fans at home.
All in all, Monaco does not need to be turned into something it is not supposed to be. It does not need to become something uncharacteristic of F1.
It does, however, need to adapt to meet its expectations and status of being one of the greatest racing spectacles on the planet. As things stand, it pales in comparison to its Triple Crown partners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500.
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