"Racing Christmas" as it has been for decades is no more come 2026 -- Monaco will no longer be matched up with the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600.
Taking Monaco off the treasured final weekend of May is a good choice by F1, but if the rumored next move is one that would be a horrible error.
Monaco moving to June
Monaco has become a staple of late May, but no longer starting next year. The prestigious, but usually boring, race is locked in to the F1 calendar through 2031, but now into the first weekend of June from 2026.
The move is primarily aimed at making the 24-race calendar more manageable. In 2025, F1 goes from the Middle East, then to the U.S., followed by Europe, to Canada, and back to Europe again. The move is trying to make the Europe leg with less interruptions.
The unspoken part of the move could likely also be trying to get a better product on Memorial Day Weekend for F1 to show off. While IndyCar and NASCAR have has some legendary races in past years at their marquee tracks, F1 produces a dud every time it comes to the track and no rain is in the forecast.
If you're in F1 leadership, you know how much of a turn-off this will be to new or non-F1 fans. And putting something better in that slot could pay dividends.
Canada taking Monaco's place
Moving the Canadian Grand Prix up has been in the discussion for quite awhile to smooth over the F1 calendar, but concerns about weather have tended to push it off.
But the Monaco-Montreal swap will actually come to pass - this isn't new information, we've known that Canada will go to May from 2026 since last year. This means Canada will follow the Miami Grand Prix in one of the final weekends of May.
This means that it could be that final weekend of May, or possibly the weekend before. Racing fans have probably assumed or hope that it would be the latter, but that may not be the case.
Canada and Indy could clash in '26
The Athletic's Luke Smith, in his latest piece about how the 2026 calendar is shaping up, points out what could be coming: there is only one clear slot for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Smith points out that with Monaco locked in to June 7, 2026, that leaves either May 24th (Memorial Day weekend) or May 31st. But a May 31 race would mean a doubleheader that requires crossing the Atlantic in between - not likely.
And any calendar shifts that would allow Canada to be any earlier are not likely either, considering the reason for the change in the first place, plus the colder climate.
So F1 in Canada on Memorial Day Weekend, a slot F1 already held, what's the issue?
Well, if the Memorial Day race is in Europe, that's a 9-10 a.m. start in the States, while the Indy 500 was scheduled to go off just before 1 p.m. this year.
But in Montreal? This year's schedule GP start is 2 p.m. That's a direct clash.
F1 needs to avoid this head-to-head
Whether F1 makes this move out of necessity, or because they have no issue siphoning IndyCar's viewers, it absolutely should not happen.
It's natural that sports will fight for viewers, but this is not a situation where we need one.
The overall viewing experience will take a hit for anyone who wants to watch both, or it kills the chance of fans expanding their horizons. There is no need for that.
Having a tripleheader of iconic racing pays dividends for all series. Clashing damages the experience and creates in-fighting that no one needs.
This isn't NBA vs. NFL on Christmas. This is two similar but different products that can and should coexist.