'F1 without Monaco is not F1' - Charles Leclerc pleads for Monaco GP extension

• The 2022 edition of the Monaco Grand Prix will be the last unless a new deal is struck.

• Ferrari's Charles Leclerc believes that Monaco is a historic race that should always be on the F1 calendar.

• The first race held in Monaco took place in 1929, and it's been on the official F1 calendar since 1950.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc has told Formula 1 bosses that the Monaco Grand Prix must stay on the calendar.

Organisers of the sport's grandest race are locked in discussions with F1's American owners Liberty Media over a contract extension. Sunday's 78-lap race around the principality is set to be the last unless a new deal is rubber-stamped.

Despite being considered the most glamorous event in F1, the two-mile course has remained largely unchanged from the first Grand Prix staged in 1929, and some have claimed it is no longer fit for purpose in its current guise. The race has only been omitted from an F1 season five times since the sport's official start in 1950.

'A bad move'

But Leclerc, 24, born and raised in Monaco, said: "Losing the race would be a bad move for both parties. I have never known Monaco without F1, apart from Covid reasons in 2020, and F1 without Monaco is not F1.

"F1 has historic tracks like Silverstone, Monza and Monaco, too, and Monaco should stay on the calendar. There is no track that comes close to the adrenalin we get here, and for me, it is part of F1's history."

Despite the uncertainty, it is expected that Liberty, and the race organisers, are close to striking a new agreement, with a formal announcement likely to follow in the coming months. F1's motorsport boss Ross Brawn has explored ways to adapt the tight and twisty track, but alterations would require the full support of Automobile Club de Monaco.

R