Lewis Hamilton talks to Prince of Monaco about livening up GP and rules out Daniel Ricciardo joining Mercedes
World champion delivered damning verdict on historic GP
LEWIS HAMILTON has spoken to the Prince of Monaco about his plans to liven up the dull Monaco Grand Prix.
The world champion delivered his damning verdict on this historic GP, which has been running for 76 years.
After Daniel Ricciardo's victory, Hamilton, who was third, labelled it "super-unexciting" and Fernando Alonso, who retired with a gearbox issue, called it the "most boring ever".
Sour grapes? Perhaps, but the reality is that Ricciardo, with his crippled Red Bull running with 25 per cent less power, should not have won the race.
And Hamilton, who lives in the Principality, says he has told Prince Albert - the reigning monarch - about how to make the race special again.
He said: "I said to Prince Albert the other day, maybe it's time to make it [the track] longer. We're doing laps of one minute and 11 seconds around here.
"There's more roads - do we change this great track and make it even better?
"Maybe it's got to be a different format or something here. It's got to be more mixed-up.
"You look at NASCAR and they put in a bunch of safety cars for no reason at all but to bunch the pack up. There's like 100 yellow flags in the race to bring them all together."
The Monaco GP makes up motorsport's tripled crown along with the Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans yet its status as one of the best races in the world is now under threat.
Sure, Saturday's qualifying is a spectacle, with drivers pushing their cars to the limit, just millimetres from the walls and crash barriers.
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But Sunday's races in the Principality have become a procession and TV viewers are not happy.
Andy Hart Tweeted: "I think Monaco would not really be missed by tv viewers."
Richard Khan Jr. added: "F1 has outgrown Monaco I feel. Cars don't suit it anymore and today was just a tyre preservation exercise. Anyone behind Danny Ricc's sick RBR [Red Bull] should have been able to fight but the tyres sucked."
It's worth remembering too that Monaco is the only race on the F1 calendar that does not pay a race fee to the sport's owners, Liberty Media.
It won't please the purists but with no race fee, drivers' criticism and with TV viewers being equally unimpressed, perhaps Hamilton is right and the Monaco GP needs changing.
Hamilton has ruled out Ricciardo's chances of joining him at Mercedes next season.
The Brit, who has yet to agree terms on his own £40million a year contract with Merc, says it is ";unlikely" Ricciardo will join the Silver Arrows.
Ricciardo is in the final year of his contract at Red Bull, who are understood to have offered him new terms - albeit on a reduced rate compared to his teammate, Max Verstappen.
Verstappen, 20, is paid around £20million a year by Red Bull, a figure that is believed to be double Ricciardo's current wage.
And Hamilton says the Aussie, who won the Monaco GP despite having a broken car, should go back to the Milton Keynes-based team and ask for more money.
He said: "In the top teams, there is only Ferrari or Mercedes that he could consider joining, but currently here at Mercedes, that is unlikely. I don't think that's going to happen.
"If you look at Ferrari, I'd imagine Kimi Raikkonen will want to continue, so at the moment he is the lead driver in Red Bull.
"They have potential and if they get a [good] engine they will be even closer in the mix with us, but he should have a contract on the table with all the options open to him.
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"He is doing a solid job. He has got a teammate who, from what I hear, is making a lot more money than him, but Daniel is more consistent and keeping the car together more.
"It is always important to feel valued in a team and know your worth and your contribution but I'd imagine his future is there at Red Bull."