Monaco Grand Prix plagued by loose banner coverings on Armco barriers
As the Monaco road racing weekend unfolded, a recurring issue plagued the event – banner coverings on the Armco barriers around the Monte Carlo street circuit repeatedly coming loose.
In areas like the swimming pool, the coverings were rubbed away by cars brushing against the barriers. However, at Mirabeau, a whole section of banners was sucked off by the force of the cars running close to them.
In the closing stages of Q1, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz inadvertently pulled a banner away in that section, followed by Williams’ Logan Sargeant running over a section. Moments later, Lando Norris hit it, pulling it under his car.
“I had to pit for it to come off, and it just shouldn’t happen in Formula 1,” Lando Norris said. “It is a bit silly, in my opinion. We said it [in the drivers’ briefing], we said it was going to happen again, and they said they were going to fix it. But it obviously wasn’t fixed.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella supported his driver’s claim, emphasizing that the situation was unacceptable and urging action before the race to prevent a repeat incident.
“What happened in Q1 is something that should not happen and is not up to the standards of racing circuits,” Andrea Stella said.
Motorsport.com understands that the FIA instructed marshals to remove any loose banner sections between qualifying segments to prevent further problems in Q2 and Q3. Moreover, the FIA confirmed that branding will be completely removed in some small areas for tomorrow’s race, citing, “We’ve now decided to completely remove branding in some small areas for tomorrow.”
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