- The race date changes from the end of May to the first week of June from 2026
- The circuit layout will not change despite the lack of overtaking opportunities
- Prince Albert of Monaco and F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali met this week
Grand Prix’s most iconic venue, Monaco, has signed up to the Formula One calendar until 2031 in a six-year extension worth more than £150m, Mail Sport can reveal this morning.
Friendly negotiations are understood to have ended this week with the principality agreeing to pay £25m a year, double its previous annual contribution.
The race date is moved from the end of May to the first week of June 2026.
However, the track layout around Monaco’s ribbon of asphalt will not change. Formula One bosses have accepted it is impossible to redevelop the circuit even though the iconic venue struggles 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 the former boss of Monaco’s influential Automobile Club, Michel Boeri, to seal the deal.
Iconic Monaco Grand Prix to remain on F1 circuit until 2031 in deal extension
Charles Leclerc won this year’s Grand Prix and in the future it will take place in early June.
Prince Albert II of Monaco met this week with Stefano Domenicali, CEO of F1
It was a simpler task than the previous renegotiation in which Monaco lost the right to produce its own television coverage in recent years.
Monaco has traditionally shown Tag Heuer advertising, something they can do again without running afoul of global sponsors Rolex because F1 is ending its long association with the Swiss manufacturer after reaching a billion-pound deal with LVMH – LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton – the French conglomerate specializing in Specialty Products, including Tag. LVMH’s 10-year contracts will take effect next year.
Doemenicali has wanted to maintain a significant presence in traditional venues as he and owners Liberty Media expand into new territories. A race in Africa remains a goal, while South Korea remains keen to see the return of F1.
Formula One declined to comment on the renewed deal with Monaco this morning, although official confirmation is expected today.