Start, Monaco, 2023

Rate the race: 2023 Monaco Grand Prix

2023 Monaco Grand Prix

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What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the Monaco Grand Prix.

RaceFans has held polls on every F1 race since 2008 to find out which fans thought of each round of the season.

Join in the latest poll and give your verdict on the race: 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix out of 10

  • 10 (4%)
  • 9 (5%)
  • 8 (28%)
  • 7 (27%)
  • 6 (14%)
  • 5 (11%)
  • 4 (6%)
  • 3 (3%)
  • 2 (1%)
  • 1 (2%)

Total Voters: 147

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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45 comments on “Rate the race: 2023 Monaco Grand Prix”

  1. An okay race for Monaco’s standards. Some racing further down the field & rain temporarily bringing excitement.

    1. Yeah, it was a bit of a typical Monaco race, although the rain did bring a bit of fun watching. Ultimately most of the drivers did a really good job all race, although there were a few who showed their impatience getting the better of themselves (especially Perez, and to a bit lesser extent Sainz, Stroll was also on the limit of that at moments)

  2. The TV direction was not any better than in other years.

    I hope no one is clamoring for a longer Monaco Grand Prix anymore.

    Haas are an embarrassement operationally.

    The Grand Prix gets a 1, for weather.

    1. You were supposed to rate the race, not your liking of the outcome.

      1. The Monaco Grand Prix is a 0 by default, for failing to put on a race.

        But the weather was fun, so it gets a 1.

        1. Each to their own I guess. But I can’t believe anyone watched the skill from these drivers over the course of this weekend in all conditions and wasn’t impressed. A great drive from Max to extend the mediums, Ocon with a phenomenal drive too. An interesting strategy battle too.

          Monaco will never be a 1000 overtake, multiple strategy race – it’s about accuracy and commitment in a track limit era which no longer values it. It’s the remaining connection to the all time greats. Every Monaco GP for me starts at a 6, today was an 8 for me due to the incredible skill illustrated by the world’s best drivers.

          I’m sad you don’t see it that way.

          1. It’s ‘rate the race’, not ‘rate the weekend’. And there is no such thing as a race at the Monaco Grand Prix.

            I had to chuckle when F1TV Pro commentary mentioned a hilariously off 2 sec a lap advantage for an overtake during the dry part of the Grand Prix. As if we didn’t see Dany holding everyone behind with a significantly larger disadvantage not that long ago.

          2. @proesterchen

            There’s more to a race than on track overtakes. It’s about tension, pressure, tactics, skill. There is no tougher challenge in Motorsport than racing in the wet in Monaco. There is no race that punishes driver errors or team mistakes more. Today had a great mix of all the elements that make racing intense. There’s an empathy to understanding how the drivers feel in these moments that is significantly better than a DRS pass filled race with none of the fight or skill.

          3. @rbalonso

            My point is that any leader in Moncao can go so slow for most of the race that there is no tension under dry conditions. Max was running several seconds a lap slower than Checo early in the race, and all that happened was that everyone just fell into line dutifully. (and that was the sensible thing to do, too!)

            And I’m not disputing that the weather added to the spectacle, I’m just not losing sight of the fact that until the rain began to hit the track, the usual procession was void of any excitement.

          4. @proesterchen.

            You could make the argument that there is no tension surrounding the leader to most races we’ve seen in the past decade. To me, a driver racing at 70% but managing fuel, tyres and energy to get to the weather window, driving within 5mm is much more impressive than a driver going at 90% on a track where being 4m wide is accepted as a laptime deleted.

            When watching the Indy 500, I knew 95% of the race is totally meaningless and that they spend most of their time sitting in a procession fuel saving. Granted the winner started down the field, but lots of that time was gained under cautions which were caused by drivers pushing the limit. I loved every second of both events, because they were different but also because they were genuine races with skill and commitment not DRS trains.

            The key point is: No Grand Prix with 20 cars can be a zero rating. That is being deliberately facetious to try and start an argument. I find it borderline impossible to believe that someone who understands the history of the sport and watches every week as you do can’t see the merits of a race around the Principality.

    2. Did we watch the same race? Only thing I agree with is Hass being a mess.

      1. @rbalonso Proesterchen is negative about most things so I think you’re wasting your time.

  3. Couldn’t really ask for more. Genuine overtakes, drivers actually attempting overtakes, different strategies and a bit of variable weather too. Gave it a 9. A very enjoyable 2 hours!

    1. Unbelievable.

    2. +1 really enjoyed it too! Best race of the season so far.

      1. True that … passing, racing, rain, penalties … best “Monaco” in some time. And no “Safety Cars”!

      2. Agree that is the best race of the season so far. Mostly because race control didn’t interfere too much. Let’s hope they’ve learned a lesson.

        An 8 from me.

    3. I thought tv direction was pretty good as well. Once Verstappen and Alonso were down the road they focused the cameras on the close racing down the field.

      1. Yes, but I wish they wouldn’t ruin the flow by switching to a car trundling in and out of the pits on the speed limiter. Show us the actual stop, and the driver rejoining after Ste-Devote if a rival’s right with him, but otherwise it’s deadly dull and we missed at least one pass in this race.

  4. It’s Monaco, so a different of Quali and race viewpoint.

    Quali was without exception the best Quali session for a very long time.

    The race was pretty much typical Monaco, until the rain appeared later in the race, making it a good challenge race for the drivers.

  5. 2
    And only for those few laps when the rain came.

  6. Miltiadis (@miltosgreekfan)
    28th May 2023, 15:59

    A decent 7/10.
    We saw some harsh but fair overtaking moves in the dry and the arrival of rain happened without causing crashes/interruptions. Sadly,as it’s usual for this year,there wasn’t a huge amount of competition for the lead and the gap from P8 to the rest of the grid was pretty significant as well

  7. 2

    Nothing at all for nearly 50 laps with cars driving slower than in practice.

    The rain added some much needed drama, but it soon became the standard no-overtaking snooze fest. Thankfully Monaco is done with for another year and fingers crossed it’s soon dropped.

    1. It’s Monaco. You need to temper your expectations and adjust your score accordingly.

      1. Why would you? The same scale applies for all races.

    2. Nikos (@exeviolthor)
      28th May 2023, 17:02

      These cars cannot pass no matter where they race. Only fake DRS overtakes save the other venues.
      At least in Monaco every mistake is punished.

  8. RandomMallard
    28th May 2023, 16:05

    Surprisingly, that was the most I’ve enjoyed a race all season I have to say. A quite pleasant amount of overtaking and fighting, especially further down the field, even in the dry portion of the race. And then, for a few laps as the rain started to come down, absolute chaos. Slowed down a bit towards the end, but still very enjoyable. Coupled with qualifying yesterday, I’d say a good 7 or 8 out of 10.

  9. An absolute snoozefest for 80-90% of the time, worthy of a 1-2 until the rain. Unfortunately the rain only added limited drama as the order didn’t really change, if it changed at all, so I’ll bump it up to a 4.

  10. 7, dull-as-usual start, but the race held attention after the rain started. Alonso as usual is talked up as a threat (and promised to be aggressive) but played safe at the start and got the second place he wanted. In the end the pit stops showed it wouldn’t have mattered, I guess, so a justified decision.

  11. Not even the rain can save Monaco in modern F1 from mediocrity.
    The only actual fights where from positions P13-P16, and the cars being as big as trucks meant a lot of the overtaking attempts ended up with contacts.
    Rain chaos was fun while it lasted, but….not much happened really.

    5.5/10

  12. Oh, if only Alonso put on inters during that first pitstop. Max probably still wins but I think a pass would have been required.

    Still an enjoyable race, especially for Monaco. Great drive from Alpine, the backmarkers were lively and I’ll never complain at the sight of rain. An easy 8 for me.

  13. Quite an enjoyable race. Some overtakes in the first stint due to differences in tyre wear and strategies. After that the rain brought amusement. Pity Aston Martin made the very strange choice to go for mediums, maybe they thought going the alternative route was their only way to win. In the end I guess they would have gotten close if they would have gone to inters immediatly.

  14. Nikos (@exeviolthor)
    28th May 2023, 17:00

    I really wish that the scale would be changed so that 1 is on the left side and 10 on the right.
    Or at least let us be able to change our vote!!

  15. Josh (@canadianjosh)
    28th May 2023, 17:14

    Decent race overall, a few drivers shouldn’t be on the grid and proved that today.

  16. A little below average for me, even for Monaco. Driving cars the size of an SUV on the streets of Monaco is clearly not the recipe for exciting racing, and if not for the rain, I’d have probably rated it a 2.

  17. IfImnotverymuchmistaken
    28th May 2023, 17:25

    Great race, the best of the season. A few overtakes, but proper ones, no push-to-pass button nonsense.
    Every mistake punished, as it shuold be.
    I love the Monaco GP, it really separates the best from the good.
    And then the rain. Suprisingly, very little chaos as wet Monaco GPs go, and no unnecessary SC or red flags.

  18. Watched the highlights. I guess the stewards didn’t want to add insult to injury, but it seems rather odd that Pérez didn’t get a single penalty for his numerous shenanigans.

    Fair play to Alonso and the Ferrari’s for trying to be too clever, but that never really works. Slick tyres just don’t work on a wet track.

    Big thumbs up to Wittich for not throwing pointless safety cars, but I imagine a lot of that is thanks to the very efficient marshals at Monaco. Other tracks should take note.

    Other than that… it’s Monaco. It’s about qualifying, although @exeviolthor isn’t wrong that F1 cars are pretty terrible at racing on other tracks, too.

  19. Thing about Monaco is you really have to judge the drivers, not the race. The skill and guts to do that in an F1 car is beyond. I’m no Max fan, but he is an absolute master of that car. And look at what Alonso can do when he’s happy and relaxed. I like this new Fernando, for the first time in his career I’d buy him a beer. Ocan had a much needed perfect weekend also, congrats to him.
    I thought this was an entertaining race, Monaco is always spiced up with a spot of rain. Solid 8 for the Principality.
    I never noticed before that there’s no driver weigh-in there, they just get out of their cars and go chat with David C.

  20. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    28th May 2023, 19:06

    Looks like even the rain can’t save Monaco ;-) Sure, it added some excitement but ultimately nothing really changed.

    I wonder what would have happened if Alonso had switched to inters.

  21. Good timing by the rain – gave us the will-it-won’t-it tension, a proper downpour, and a mostly dry track with a wet section (unbelievable in such a small space). The top three (and Mercedes’ pit crew) were impressively unflappable. One newcomer and several drivers old enough to know better… just weren’t.
    I guess we missed out on it drying enough to switch back to slicks. But, some proper edge-of-the-seat stuff, and not a Showbiz Car in sight.

  22. I’ll give the rain 10/10 because it made a race that was likely to become a precession, an 8/10.

  23. 7/10 I quite enjoyed it. Not much excitement at the front at all or until the rain started but there were a couple of good overtakes. Rain brought some more tension and risk but drivers and teams handled things pretty well. No safety cars or significant crashes.

    By Monaco’s standards a pretty entertaining day.

  24. A large part of the race was a procession. However, rain towards the end made it exciting. Overall enjoyable race given the expectations before the start of the race. There were a couple of brain fade moments – Aston Martin opting for mediums on a slippery surface and Ferrari giving up track position for Sainz to cover Hamilton. The way I see it, Monaco should be seen as an endurance GP and 100 laps may be considered if it is viable.

    1. Nikos (@exeviolthor)
      29th May 2023, 16:48

      @pinakghosh

      I think that it is already an endurance GP with 78 laps. It was close to 2 hours (the rain of course played a role in this) so I think 100 laps would not be possible.

  25. 78 laps, rain in the end no safety car,. I am sure the drivers had a lot of fun. This is their party and not ours, Monaco belongs only to them. For driving skills a 10.

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