The Monaco Grand Prix is here to stay till 2031. But reorganize your schedule if you wish to attend (or watch) it next year. The Monaco GP will move to June instead of its traditional Memorial Day weekend slot. Which means no more ‘Motosports Christmas’, the phenomenon of watching three events, F1 Monaco, Indy 500, and Coca-Cola 600, scheduled on the same day. But moving away from Memorial Day for at least the next six years will benefit F1 and IndyCar alike. 

Why did F1 move the Monaco GP?

F1 is looking at global expansion. And moving Monaco to next week is part of that. F1 can accommodate a Canadian event in the same week. While it indeed breaks away from the American tradition of watching all three races throughout the Memorial Day weekend, NASCAR’s broader appeal beyond the Atlantic is still questionable. 

And F1 is looking at a global fanbase that it acquired in and outside the USA. For the newly acquired fans in the Stateside, F1 has integrated three new races, including the highly-marketed Las Vegas GP. But the American fan base of F1 is still limited. 

Hence, F1 plans to look globally at its growing fan base: 

• Last year, the F1 fanbase grew by 12% to reach 826.4 M.
• F1 broke the domestic viewership record in the USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom. 
• Key growth markets were China (39%), Canada (32%), Argentina, and Saudi Arabia (both 25.5%).

Comparably, the fanbase in the United States grew by 10.5% to 52 million. Interestingly, F1’s YouTube highlights drew 233 million views globally. While the United States and the United Kingdom contributed 31.5M and 25M, respectively, India, with 13M views, was the third-highest country in terms of viewership.

Whereas, the Australian Grand Prix also recorded 465,498 footfalls, which is the highest on record in Melbourne. Combined with the fanbase growth in China, that means interest around F1 has grown massively in the Asia Pacific region. 

So, despite the ballyhoo about F1 diminishing the American tradition of ‘Motosports Christmas’ (which, in fairness, they probably expected), F1 had to take the hard call. Moreover, it suits the business interest of all parties that a scheduling conflict doesn’t arise, given the Indy 500’s increasing appeal. 

The Indy 500 broke all records!

Indy500 shattered all records this weekend. If there was ever any doubt about IndyCar’s popularity, Memorial Sunday wiped it all off. Fox Sports, in its first year as a broadcaster, shattered all records with effective ad campaigns and prudent marketing. In the end, the result was as follows: 

• Most-watched Indy 500 since 2008 with 7,050,000 viewers.
• Up 40% over last year’s 5,024,000 viewers
• Telecast peaked with 8,438,000 viewers from 4:15-4:30 PM ET

Among the 7.1M viewers, a sizable chunk consisted of casual watchers who tuned in to the Indy500 only, and probably no other races. Just like the Monaco GP pulls in a lot of fans who never tune into any other races. Indy500 also draws the attention of traditional NASCAR fans and F1 fans. 

While for American motorsport fans, watching three events back-to-back might be the idea of fun, it very well isn’t the case with casual viewers. There is a high likelihood that some will tune out because of Indy500 fatigue or save their energy for the Coca-Cola 600.

By avoiding a direct conflict with both IndyCar and NASCAR, F1 is making sure to retain the crossports fanbase. For IndyCar as well, that’s a welcome situation. Yes, there are concerns about the Canadian race coinciding with the Indy500, but hey, when given a chance to watch the Super Bowl and a flag-football match, which will you pick? Which one do you think a casual non-football fan would want to experience? 

There you have your answer.