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Change to Monaco’s Swimming Pool Section Has Photographers Fuming Ahead of The Grand Prix

Race week at Monaco has a way of surfacing grievances that don’t exist anywhere else on the F1 calendar. This year’s entry: a catch fence at the Swimming Pool chicane that has been extended past its previous endpoint, cutting off what was apparently one of the better shooting positions on the entire circuit.

The frustration went public when photographer Jamey Price posted an Instagram Story showing the new barrier from trackside. His caption left little room for interpretation:

“That’s a big old new fence to block an excellent shot. Another example of things that didn’t need to be changed are changed.” The image quickly circulated on X, with commentary account @cytrusf1 summing up the general reaction with “They added the fence???? WHY.”

The Specific Change Photographers Are Upset About

According to replies in the thread, the catch fence on the right side of the track at the Swimming Pool section previously came to an end just past the apex, leaving a window of access that photographers had used for years. That gap is now closed. One user clarified: “Fence used to stop just after the apex, for those asking which one,” with a photo of the chicane showing exactly where the extension begins.

One reply on X added: “Because they listened the social morons that don’t understand how physics works I guess.”

Monaco’s Track Access Is Already Among the Most Restricted in F1

Walking the Monaco circuit with the right credentials is an experience that most people will never get, and those who do know how singular it is to stand directly behind the barriers while cars go past at close range.

That access is also jealously managed, and it shrinks a little more with each passing year.

The circuit runs just 2.074 miles in total , which means every shooting position is precious, there are only so many corners, and only so many angles from which a lens can reach the cars without obstruction. Losing even one good position at a venue this compact is felt more acutely than it would be at a conventional circuit with a kilometer of runoff to work with.

The reality is that the Swimming Pool section is one of the most photographed parts of the entire lap.

Drivers push through the tight chicane at great speed, making it exactly the kind of high-speed technical sequence that produces the images fans actually want to see. Blocking that angle doesn’t make the shot disappear, it just means nobody gets to take it.

Whether this is a permanent fixture or something that gets revisited before qualifying remains to be seen. Given that practice opens Friday, the window for a rethink is small.

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