F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Grid girls return, and Vettel and Hamilton are delighted!

The Monaco Grand Prix's flashiness and glamour just wouldn't be the same without a striking female presence on the grid.

Formula 1's decision to take the girls off the grid this year at the majority of the races led to conflicting sentiment among the fans.

However, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are both ecstatic to see Monaco act as an outlier and resist the ban.

"I think women are the most beautiful thing in the world," said Hamilton when asked on his opinion on the controversial subject.

"There have been races where we've had guys standing at the front, by the car, there's been a mixture sometimes... in the past...

"I think Monaco is a very elegant Grand Prix and... I don't know how women feel about it, I've not really ever spoke to them about how they feel about the whole situation," he added.

"I can't particularly comment, I don't particularly feel any way about it... when we pull up at the grid and there's a beautiful woman on the grid, that's the Monaco Grand Prix, it's a lovely thing.

"But I definitely don't think we should ever be supporting anything that makes women in general feel uncomfortable, and if they are then we shouldn't do it. But if they're comfortable doing it..."

Vettel believes the uproar earlier following Liberty Media's grid girl ban was much ado about nothing.

"I think the whole thing has been blown up, unnecessarily," said the Ferrari driver.

"I don't think any of the grid girls in the past were forced to do it, I think they enjoyed what they were doing.

"I agree with Lewis," he continued, "I think they look beautiful.

"If there were guys I would just not be interested, nothing against those guys, but I just didn't care as much.

"Bottom line, I think there's too much of a fuss nowadays, I think all the women who did it in the past did it because they want to, and if we ask any grid girl on Sunday if they are happy to be there, I'm sure their answer will be 'yes'. I don't think anybody forces them to do it.

"I think it's a lot of noise for nothing."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

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Michael Delaney

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