To racing fans, Memorial Day Weekend provides all the thrills and action-packed drama they could ever ask for on a day known to many as “Motorsports Christmas.” Since 2006 (except in 2010, 2020, and 2021), the Sunday before Memorial Day has featured Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix, IndyCar’s Indianapolis 500, and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 all on the same day. But starting next year, racing fans won’t get an all-day buffet of racing, as the Monaco race will move to a different weekend.
Monaco Grand Prix’s departure from Memorial Day Weekend
As announced in the fall of 2024, Formula 1’s most prestigious event will instead take place on the first weekend of June starting in 2026, effectively ending “Motorsports Christmas” for all those who celebrate.
F1 officials stated that the move is intended to create easier logistics for its teams, as the Memorial Day weekend could be used instead to host back-to-back races in North America, thus reducing the travel burden for drivers.
Whereas the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 have been held on the same day since 1974 as part of an annual Memorial Day celebration, it wasn’t until a little under 20 years ago that Monaco moved its race to the same day. In total, the three races took place on the same day 24 times.
What it means for racing fans
Monaco’s departure from Memorial Day Weekend may be disappointing to some fans who have made watching all three races on the same day a tradition. But for others, the change may be welcomed, as packing 12-plus hours of racing into a single day can be quite taxing for even the most enthusiastic fan’s schedule.
It also creates the opportunity for racing enthusiasts to potentially attend both races. While that’s an aggressive travel schedule for most, at least now it’s an available opportunity.
But it also creates other opportunities for sports travel. Monaco F1 has coincided with the beginning of the French Open for several years, but the move to the first weekend in June will put it right in the middle of the two-week-long tennis tournament (assuming the French Open maintains its current schedule). That will create more opportunities for sports fans to potentially visit both events, since they will be able to choose between going to Paris first, followed by Monaco, or vice versa.
Bottom line
Whether or not racing fans are happy about the end of “Motorsports Christmas,” Monaco’s departure from Memorial Day Weekend provides a multitude of options for fans to take in the action, whether live in person or on TV.
