The Monaco Grand Prix: The Crown Jewel of F1

Monaco: The most famous F1 Track of them all

The Monaco Grand Prix is the most famous and romantic race in the F1 calendar, but there is much more to this iconic race than just yachts and champagne.

History of the racing circuit at Monaco

The iconic ‘Circuit de Monaco’ was first raced on in 1929, before becoming F1’s most glamorous venue when the sport was founded in 1950.

The ultimate and most iconic street track in the world, the circuit has only undergone minor changes in recent decades, and so historic landmarks such as Casino Square, the Fairmont Hairpin - the tightest and slowest corner in F1 - and the tunnel by the harbour are very much identifiable from how they were back in the days of legends such as Senna, Lauda, Clark, and Moss.

Monaco boasts a number of unusual protocols that defy the usual regimented F1 weekend routines.

First and second practices take place on a Thursday, rather than Friday as with all other races, which allows some of the circuit to re-open to the public on a Friday afternoon.

This tradition was also influenced by the race traditionally being on the weekend of Ascension Day, which is a public holiday in the principality.

The podium took place in the Royal Box until 2017, with the top 3 drivers parking on the main straight rather than the usual Parc Ferme area; a fact lost on 2009 winner Jenson Button, who famously ran down the entirety of the pit straight having parked up in the wrong place.

Victory at the Monaco Grand Prix forms a third of Motorsport’s heralded ‘Triple Crown’ - along with the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Indy 500.

Graham Hill remains the only driver to have achieved this feat, winning Monaco 5 times between 1963 and 1969, with a sole Indy 500 win in 1966, and a Le Mans victory in 1971.

Many others have tried and failed to emulate Hill - only seven others have won two of the three accolades, with F1 returnee Fernando Alonso the latest to try, but so far unable to secure victory at Indy despite three attempts.

Monaco: Circuit Guide

Tragedy and Major Incidents at Monaco

The tight and twisty nature of Monaco means that the cars generally don’t reach the sort of speeds seen at low-downforce tracks such as Monza and Spa, and so the number of fatalities is significantly lower than at other circuits.

That has been a mainstay throughout F1’s rich history.

However, Monaco has not escaped tragedy. In 1967 Ferrari’s Lorenzo Bandini clipped the barrier and overturned, hitting straw bales that ruptured the cars fuel tank and set on fire themselves, creating an inferno from which Bandini suffered fatal burns.

A nearby TV helicopter lowered to capture footage of the crash, wafting the flames into further agitation, and it took around five minutes for Bandini to be extracted from the car by Marshalls who had no equipment to overturn the car, nor fireproof overalls.

Straw bales were banned from F1 circuits as a result, replaced by guardrails.

Two drivers - Alberto Ascari and Paul Hawkins - have crashed into the Harbour, in 1955 and 1965 respectively.

Paul Hawkins somehow survived this terrifying crash at Monaco

Both drivers escaped unharmed and were able to swim to safety, but double World Champion Ascari was killed just four days later in a crash at Monza, whilst Hawkins died in a crash of his own in 1969.

And in 1950, waves from the harbour crashed onto the circuit during the opening lap, causing a nine-car pile-up from which all drivers managed to escape without injury.

More recently, Jenson Button in 2003, and Sergio Perez in 2011 had near-identical incidents in qualifying by losing control at the bumpy exit of the tunnel, ploughing into the armco barrier side-on.

Both drivers suffered from a concussion and missed the race the following day, but were fortunate to escape major injury.

Concerns over Monaco as a race track

Drivers absolutely adore Monaco, often termed as the ‘one they all want to win’, and why wouldn’t it be; every driver has heroes of their own, and emulating legends of the past by taking victory at the principality is unrivalled in its notoriety. 

Drivers also love the challenge - the smallest lapse of concentration puts you in the barrier, yet full commitment is required on every corner unless you want to find yourself way down the grid after qualifying, and in all likelihood ruining the weekend before the race have even begun.

But such is the difficulty of overtaking, not all fans have the same unwavering affection as the drivers do.

There have been numerous occasions where the races have resembled a procession, with faster cars unable to overtake.

Nigel Mansell spent the vast majority of the 1992 race latched onto the gearbox of Ayrton Senna’s McLaren, trying in vain to get past in a far quicker Williams, whilst Daniel Ricciardo was still able to win in 2018 despite a power issue that left him without seventh and eight gear for more than half the race.

The ever-increasing aerodynamic development in F1 has resulted in far more turbulent air in the wake of cars and has made overtaking even harder - so nowadays it is near impossible to work your way up the order on track.

Iconic Moments at Monaco

Despite its flaws as a circuit, Monaco has seen countless moments and races that are enshrined into F1 folklore.

A wet race is guaranteed chaos and excitement; Ayrton Senna finishing second during the torrential 1984 race, working his way through the field in an uncompetitive Toleman, is regarded as his true arrival on the world stage.

The footage of Senna throwing his McLaren around the track in the late 80s and early 90s is truly staggering, and he holds the most number of Monaco (six), but in 1988 he pushed himself beyond the limit, crashing out of the race despite leading team-mate Prost by 45 seconds and being instructed to slow down by the team.

Distraught, Senna failed to return to the pits and returned to his home (many drivers have chosen to live in Monaco in the past).

On-board with Aryton Senna at Monaco

The 1982 race saw five leaders in the last three laps. Alain Prost crashed while leading, Ricardo Patrese then spun at the hairpin, giving the lead to Didier Pironi, who then broke down in the tunnel.

Andrea De Cesaris, who would have inherited first, ran out of fuel, and then Derek Daly crashed out. Patrese had managed to recover from his spin and took a truly astonishing maiden victory.

1996 saw just three cars finish the race, the smallest number in the history of the sport, with Ligier’s Olivier Panis taking his only career win. And Lewis Hamilton won an action-packed 2008 race in changeable conditions, recovering from a puncture after brushing the barrier early on.

Monaco Controversy

Monaco is not shy to controversy either.

In 2006, Michael Schumacher made a mistake on his final qualifying lap at La Rascasse corner, leaving his car in a dangerous position and bringing out yellow flags.

Schumacher was already on provisional position at the time, meaning that no other drivers were able to improve their time and thus securing Schumacher first on the grid.

However, the stewards deemed his ‘error’ as foul play and declared his qualifying time as void.

Nico Rosberg emulated his German counterpart Schumacher in 2014, by locking up and going down the escape road at Mirabeau whilst also first during qualifying.

This time the stewards deemed that Rosberg had made a genuine mistake and allowed him to keep pole position and ultimately win the race the following day, lighting the fuse on an explosive rivalry between Rosberg and team-mate Lewis Hamilton during the first three years of the turbo-hybrid era which continues to be dominated by Mercedes.

The famous Monaco tunnel by the sea…

Final Thoughts on the Circuit de Monaco

There’s no doubt that the Monaco Grand Prix was sorely missed from the 2020 calendar on spectacle alone, and its return to the F1 calendar was greatly needed.

We all know that the track isn’t the most entertaining for racing, and if every circuit had the same characteristics as Monaco, the sport would lose its thrill factor, but its unique nature makes it simply irreplaceable.

Other tracks have since been built and raced in settings of beauty and wealth, but none can match Monaco’s tradition and glamour that truly make it the jewel in F1’s crown.

They race here for more than the prize money, more than the points. They race here to win in Monaco.