Written by Staff Writer
(CNN) — Formula One chief Chase Carey has announced that next year’s Monaco Grand Prix will be reduced to a three-day format from 2017.
Carey made the announcement during an official handover ceremony on Wednesday, three days after Alain Prost was named as part of the seven-man team leading the search for a new race format, according to News Corp.
“The Monaco Grand Prix will be reduced to a three-day format next year (2017) and the opportunity to step up that date has also presented itself and will come in 2022,” Carey told Sky Sports.
“The benefits of three days will be tremendous and where we’re going to lead is to create a format in which people will be ready to come back and people will be ready to come back year after year.”
The only time that Monaco has been able to introduce a shortened race was in 2010, when the 2.5-mile Monte Carlo street circuit was reduced to a three-day event in the wake of the financial crisis.
The news of the Grand Prix’s reduction is the latest piece of bad news for Formula One as it faces a general boycott by its thousands of fans and criticism from sponsors.
“You have seen again this weekend what is happening,” added Carey, prior to the unveiling of a new F1 championship trophy which will be stationed in Shanghai for a year before moving on to its permanent home in Sakhir, north of Dubai.
“We want to better explain to people what our plans are. We do want to bring something back to the fans at Monaco and that’s really what we’re trying to do.”