Opinion | Fragile Pirelli tyres take out need for speed at F1 races

The Monaco Grand Prix has many things that make it stand out in the Formula One calendar. The stunning, lavish surroundings; the ostentatiousness and inflated egos (even by F1 standards) and the ridiculously large yachts with more technology than the average aircraft carrier.

What does not make it special is the quality of the racing on a tight street circuit. But this year that does not seem to be a pre-requisite. Just look to the awful race that passed for the Spanish Grand Prix.

It was not really a race because the drivers were not going as fast as they could. It made for an odd spectacle, and a slightly deflating one at that. F1 cars by their nature do not coast, but to see the fastest cars on the planet doing lap times no better than the GP2 warm up series was depressing in the extreme.

The reason, of course, is the tyres. Pirelli had been asked to make fragile tyres to spice up the racing, and they duly obliged. Some 82 pit stops in less than 100 minutes of racing in Spain suggests they have taken it too far. Many teams were forced to pit their cars four times in the race, and fans were left totally bewildered as to what was happening on the track.

Like a good novel, a race should have a narrative. We should know who is able to challenge for the lead, who is fighting whom up and down the order. For that matter, qualifying on pole on Saturday should give some indication of a car's ability to challenge for a podium finish.

You have to feel for the Mercedes drivers, who qualified one and two, and then went backwards in the race as they tried to preserve their tyres. Lewis Hamilton started second and finished 12th. In the process he was constantly reminded by his team to conserve rubber. "I can't drive any slower" was his comical response.

Most of the radio traffic between the pit wall and the drivers seemed to be telling those at the wheel to take it easy.