Red Bull team chief Christian Horner has jokingly suggested that knocking down some of Flavio Briatore’s Monaco properties could solve the Principality’s overtaking woes.
The light-hearted exchange, which took place just days after the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix, came during a broader discussion about the mandatory two-stop strategy.
Briatore, who took over team principal responsibilities at Alpine following Oliver Oakes’ abrupt exit, claimed during the press conference in Spain: “It was a very bad idea. I don’t think it was a good idea at all because it was worse. Everybody tried to have the window to have the pitstop, you slow down everybody.”
As the Alpine chief continued to discuss the rule change with Pirelli boss Mario Isola and Horner, the Red Bull chief jokingly proposed: “Maybe, if we could knock a couple of your buildings down, get an overtaking spot in, because I don’t think the problems are the tyres, are they? It’s the track. The cars are too big, the track’s too small. So, it’s a pretty simple equation.”
When asked to clarify his thoughts on the two-stop strategy more seriously, Horner added:
“I think look, Monaco is Monaco, and the two-stop, it was worth it. I mean, the year before, if you remember, there was a red flag on lap one and nobody did anything. And it was just a display drive. Almost everybody just went round in order.
“This year, you had a race of two halves, and anybody at the back end, or the back end of the top 10, was trying to slow everybody down to give a pitstop. And again, it was a little bit more jeopardy, but it didn’t really solve the problem.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images
“I think we’re tickling an itch here. And I think that if we want to change it, we’ve got to change something significantly, maybe the chicane. We need a bigger stop. We need maybe more space at Rascasse, or maybe there needs to be the ability, at least the hope, of an overtake.”
The Red Bull chief then referred to a comment made by his driver following the race last weekend.
“I think Max made a good comment after the race – he said maybe, like Super Mario Kart, we should all be throwing bananas or something like that. Because literally, the drivers – it’s frustrating for them. They get out of the race, they’re not even sweating. They’re not pushing. The race is really dictated by what happens on Saturday.
“And Monaco is a wonderful place to go. It’s a brilliant event. But I think we need to move with the times and say, ‘How can we create an overtake?'”
Briatore responded, adding that the event in the Principality is closer to a “Formula 1 exhibition” than a race.
“Monaco is a big event for Formula 1. Everybody wants to be there. The race was like an exhibition of the Formula 1 car – no more the race. For us, for the sponsors, for everybody financing Formula 1 – it’s really a big event. A lot of people come to Monaco because it’s Formula 1. Not to see Formula 1. A lot of people are on the boats. They never go sit in the grandstands or wherever.
“But it’s a big event for Formula 1. Everybody wants to be in Monaco – all the sponsors, the people supporting Formula 1, was in Monaco. In the end, the race is like a Formula 1 exhibition. The race really is Saturday in qualifying. If you see Saturday, that’s when everything happens.”
The 2025 Monaco Grand Prix saw Lando Norris claim victory from pole position in what many described as a “processional” race. Despite F1’s introduction of a mandatory two-stop rule aimed at creating more variety in strategy and opportunity for position changes, the race produced minimal on-track action.
