MONACO (AP) — Red Bull boss Christian Horner added his voice to those calling for ways to improve overtaking at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Formula 1's wide and heavy cars have almost nowhere to pass, and often follow each other around the tight and sinewy 3.3-kilometer (two-mile) street circuit.
“They’re so big now, arguably they’re too big to be racing around these streets because you can barely get two side by side," team principal Horner said on Friday. “Could we open up some areas that could potentially create at least an overtaking opportunity, and what would it (take) to achieve that? I think that’s something that Formula 1 is acutely aware of."
F1's iconic race has been part of the principality’s history since 1929 and remains a firm driver's favorite; with huge status for sporting and historical reasons.
The late Ayrton Senna won Monaco a record six times; Michael Schumacher and Graham Hill did so five times each. Other multiple winners include Lewis Hamilton, Stirling Moss, Alain Prost, Juan Manuel Fangio — all F1 greats.
The race is arguably as much engrained in Monaco's identity as Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier; as the famed casino, or Prince Albert’s grandiose palace perched high over the start-finish line.
Film and sports stars still flock to Monaco on race weekends, some dashing over from the nearby Cannes film festival. Filmmaker George Lucas, for example, has been a regular attendee over the years.
It's the place to be seen for the rich and famous, with huge yachts bobbing around the harbor, glamor on display, and Champagne flowing.
“We race here because of the history, the heritage, and it’s a phenomenal venue. There’s a great deal of prestige in winning this race," Horner said. “But to protect the next 70 years here, I think that there needs to obviously be some evolution.”
That's mainly because the race often has an anti-climactic and processional feel to it.
There is almost nowhere to launch an attack, cars slow down heading into every anxiety-inducing turn close to a crash barrier, and strategy is reduced to a minimum.
The most exciting action is usually on Saturday, when drivers get the pure thrill of tackling Monaco at higher speeds and where getting pole position makes such a difference.
“By and large this race will be won tomorrow afternoon in qualifying," Horner said. “In these cars now, you’ve got to be very lucky to pull off an overtake."
Horner's comments echoed those made by seven-time world champion Hamilton. While the Mercedes driver has a great fondness for Monaco, which he has won three times, he says the skinny course nullifies racing.
“I wish we had bigger roads and the track could be wider,” he said. "But I don’t think that’s ever going to be the case in Monaco, because it’s just a small place.”
Hamilton agrees the spectacle needs be improved.
“They should come up with some new formula for it rather than it just be the same,” he said. “Maybe having special tires for this race so you have more pitstops would create more variability."
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. offered his view.
“If there’s an opportunity to create an overtaking spot around Monaco, have a look at the city, have a look at the layout," he said. “Make an effort to make that happen.”
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz of Spain steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack, in Monaco, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese authorities say Typhoon Yagi has killed at least four people and injured 78 others after making landfall Saturday afternoon in the north of the country.
Yagi, described by Vietnamese meteorological officials as “one of the most powerful typhoons in the region over the past decade,” made its way to the Southeast Asian country after it left three people dead and nearly a hundred others injured in the Chinese province of Hainan.
The typhoon landed at Vietnam's coastal provinces of Quang Ninh and Haiphong with wind speeds of up to 149 kilometers per hour (92 miles per hour), state media reported. Before landing, strong winds felled a tree, killing a woman in the capital, Hanoi, local media said Saturday.
Quang Ninh is home to the UNESCO World Heritage site Ha Long Bay, known for its many towering limestone islands. Hundreds of cruises were canceled at the popular site before the typhoon landed, according to local media. Haiphong is an industrial hub, home to large factories, including EV maker VinFast and Apple supplier Pegatron.
The typhoon has also triggered power outages in large parts of Quang Ninh and Thai Binh provinces.
Earlier, the government issued several alerts, and those vulnerable to floods or landslides were evacuated. Four airports were shuttered, including in Hanoi, and Haiphong.
Authorities pruned trees in Hanoi to make them less susceptible to falling, but wind and rain knocked over several along with billboards in northern cities. Local media reported that many moored boats were swept out to sea.
“I am going to stay inside and try and stay safe with my family,” said Bao Ngoc Cao, 24, a businesswoman from Hanoi. She added that the last time a typhoon this strong hit Vietnam was in 2013 and that storms usually weaken before reaching the capital. “But we still need to be prepared.”
On Friday afternoon, Yagi struck the Chinese city of Wenchang in Hainan province with wind speeds of up to about 245 kph (152 mph) near its center. Authorities said the typhoon has affected over 1.2 million people as of noon Saturday, according to the local Global Times newspaper.
Some 420,000 Hainan residents were relocated before the typhoon's landfall. Another half a million people in Guangdong province were evacuated before Yagi made a second landfall in the province's Xuwen County on Friday night.
Meanwhile, the meteorological observatory of the city of Haikou downgraded its typhoon signal from red to orange on Saturday, as it moved further away.
Before leaving Hong Kong, Yagi forced more than 270 people to seek refuge at temporary government shelters on Friday, and over 100 flights in the city were canceled due to the typhoon. Heavy rain and strong winds felled dozens of trees, and trading on the stock market, bank services and schools were halted.
Yagi was still a storm when it blew out of the northwestern Philippines into the South China Sea on Wednesday, leaving at least 20 people dead and 26 others missing mostly in landslides and widespread flooding and affecting more than 2.3 million people in northern and central provinces.
More than 82,200 people were displaced from their homes in Philippine provinces, and classes, work, inter-island ferry services and domestic flights were disrupted for days, including in the densely populated capital region, metropolitan Manila.
Benjamin Horton, director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore said that storms like typhoon Yagi were “getting stronger due to climate change, primarily because warmer ocean waters provide more energy to fuel the storms, leading to increased wind speeds and heavier rainfall.”
Climate change was also causing storms to potentially move to different locations with studies by the observatory showing that the latitude where storms peaked in their intensity was shifting, exposing newer areas to the impacts of storms, he added.
Horton said that protecting natural systems ranging from reefs to rivers while building structures that were more resilient to strong winds and flying debris and improving existing infrastructure were all measures that could help countries better deal with strong typhoons.
Soo reported from Hong Kong. Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, workers remove fallen tree branches along a street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Yang Guanyu/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, workers remove fallen tree branches along a street in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Yang Guanyu/Xinhua via AP)
A man rides motorcycle in the rain caused by typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
A man rides a motorcycle in the rain caused by typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
A man rides a motorcycle in the rain caused by typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
A man pushes a motorcycle in the rain caused by typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam Saturday, Sep. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
A man rides motorcycle in the rain caused by typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sep. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
In this image released by Xinhua News Agency, a worker reinforces a glass window with tape at a cafe after the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters raised its emergency response for flood and typhoon prevention for Typhoon Yagi, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province. (Pu Xiaoxu/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a man holding an umbrella struggles against the wind following the landfall of typhoon Yagi in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Pu Xiaoxu/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a vehicle moves past trees along a road in Haikou following the landfall of typhoon Yagi, in south China's Hainan Province, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Guo Cheng/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, coconut trees hit by typhoon Yagi along a road in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Yang Guanyu/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an advertisement billboard lands on a road following the landfall of typhoon Yagi in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Yang Guanyu/Xinhua via AP)
