[Official] Monaco Grand Prix 2023: Grand Prix Weekend Thread - Round 7 of 23

[Born Racer]

After the washout of Imola due to the awful flooding in Emilia-Romagna, and the sense of a bit of a false start to the season with the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix too, we are hopefully finally back in business.

The tiny principality of Monaco hosts a Grand Prix which is often dubbed 'the jewel in the crown of Formula 1'. Indeed, alongside the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it also forms a third of the unofficial Triple Crown of Motorsport; leaving aside any focus on championships, this is an important race to win, one of the landmark achievements in the sport. Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso has been the most recent pursuer of this, having only Indy 500 victory standing between him and this nominal title. With a competitive F1 car in his hands again at long last, his Indy ambitions may have to be put on ice for a while, but he is at least in the running for F1 success, and at a Grand Prix where the race can be processional, there is also always the prospect of a surprise event. Indeed, Alonso is certainly one driver who could rise to the occasion and challenge Red Bull's apparent ability to be the first F1 team to win every race in a season.

This weekend is a real festival of motorsport, with the contrasting events of the high-speed Indy 500 and low-speed Monaco Grand Prix both being run. Slow the track may be, but it sure doesn't look it when you watch how much the drivers are able to hang it out on the limit, brushing the barriers to a fine degree, as they catapult around the 3.3km course.

Although many street tracks are now making inroads on Monaco's uniqueness and status (and traditional Thursday practice and deal-making and party-loving Friday has made way for a conventional 3-day weekend), many will look to this as the archetypal street event.

Since 1929, drivers have been threading their way around the narrow confines of Monte Carlo's streets. It is the street track which has survived longer than any other. Despite the criticism that it is an anachronism, it was always quite tight for a street circuit, even long ago. “But you can't race round there”, it is decried. Yet to focus on a dearth of overtaking opportunities is to miss what makes the Monaco Grand Prix special: on the slowest of all tracks, Formula 1 arguably looks quicker than at any other time. The occasional sense the viewer gets from the comfort of a sofa that a Formula 1 car looks straightforward is quashed and replaced by astoundment at the skills of those in whose hands it is entrusted. This remains one of Monaci's strengths. In an era of DRS passes, you know that a pass at Monaco will be a piece of specialism or opportunism.

As David Hodges wrote in The Monaco Grand Prix when describing the concluding laps of the inaugural race, 'Although the result was hardly in doubt, the crowd were still absorbed'. Perhaps then, as now, the very sight of racing cars in action in such novel surroundings was sufficient.

It has been compared to riding a bicycle around your living room, a penny farthing around your bathroom or trying to fit an American hummer in a British parking space at high speed. As you watch drivers tackle the varied twists and turns of Monte Carlo in an onboard shot, you are occasionally left stunned at how they skirt the barriers, rubbing the car on the Armco, point and squirt at an apex which is defined by the barrier that they see approaching and dance the car on the limit, left dizzy as you watch the buildings rush by and are occasionally reminded of the reality of it all as you pick out one of the supremely efficient Monaco marshals by the side of the track.

Be in no doubt at all. This is a drivers' track, one where fortune favours the brave and precise, a chance to stand out from your teammate and the rest, seize a magnificent Grand Prix result over an almost (and sometimes actually) 2-hour race and do it all in this glamorous setting on the French Riviera. This is the Monaco Grand Prix.


The history

On a circuit that was, on the whole, very similar to today's, the first Grand Prix took place in 1929. Having helped set up the Monte Carlo Rally, Antony Noghès, the son of the Automobile Club de Monaco's (ACM) first president, established the inaugural race, which took place over one hundred laps, and lasted just under four hours.

In its preview, The Autocar stated that 'This affair should be the nearest approach to a Roman chariot race that has been seen of recent years. Presumably the officials consider that the number of runners will be substantially reduced at the end of the first round'. 16 cars actually arrived and this was convenient, for it was precisely the number to eventually become specified by the ACM in later years.

Various Bugattis were present, with only one works car, that of William Grover 'Williams', in a 35B, as were Mario Lepori and Christian Dauvergne. Philippe Etancelin, Marcel Lehoux, Georges Bouriano and Philippe de Rothschild in 2.0s and René Dreyfus in a 1.5. 3 other Bugatti entries did not materialise. There were 4 entries for Alfa Romeos, 1750s for Goffredo Zehender, a 1.5 for Albert Perrot and a car for Pietro Ghersi, who did not attend. Other entries were Diego De Sterlich in a 2.0 26B Maserati, Guglielmo Sandri in a 1.5 Maserati 26, Rudolf Caracciola in a 7.1-litre Mercedes-Benz SSK, Michel Doré in a 1.5 La Licorne, Raoul de Rovin in a 1.5 Delage Eight, Tennobud in a Tracta (who withdrew) and Hans Stuck in an Austro-Daimler (he crashed out of the event in practice). Monegasque Louis Chiron was not present, as he was competing at Indy in his Delage.

There was no qualifying, but grid positions were instead drawn by a ballot. Cars started in threes. From the start, Lehoux led away, pursued by Etancelin and Williams. Climbing the hill after Sainte Dévote, the green 35B of Williams overtook the blue 2.0s and he moved out front. Caracciola moved up through the field from the back of the grid and climbed to 2nd, with Williams picking up the pace to defend. On Lap 10, Williams was 4 seconds ahead, which rose to 10 after another 10 laps, but Caracciola narrowed this gap and took the lead on Lap 30 between the tunnel and the chicane. Williams repassed Caracciola on Lap 35, with Caracciola staying close behind. Williams pitted on Lap 49, but Caracciola's stop 2 laps later took 4 and a half minutes, as the driver poured multiple cans of fuel in and changed his rear wheels and he dropped to 4th by Lap 60.

Williams led by a lap, with Bouriano and de Rothschild in 2nd and 3rd. Williams won at an average speed of 49.83mph in 3:56:11.0, with Bouriano a little more than a minute behind and Caracciola similarly further back from Bouriano.

In 1930, Bugattis dominated the field. The ACM enforced an 8000cc upper limit. 23 entries were received but 4 did not make it following an accident in Tripoli 3 weeks prior. They were Enzo Ferrari's Alfa Romeo. Velitchkovitch's Bugatti, Frankl's Steyr and Bourlier's Materassi Talbot. There were 12 Bugattis (works T35Cs for Williams, Louis Chrion and Bouriat), 2 1.5s, 2 2.0s and 5 2.3s who took the start, plus 5 other cars. Caracciola's Mercedes-Benz SSK was deemed 'unsuited to the course' and he could not race. Chiron moved to the front from the second from the beginning and was followed by Williams and Bouriat. On his first flying lap, Chiron broke the lap record with a 2 minute 13 seconds. By Lap 30, René Dreyfus had moved up to 2nd in pursuit of Chiron. In 6 laps, Dreyfus clawed a minute out of the Monegasque's lead and he responded with a 2:10 and shortly after, a 2:08. After making a 50-second pit stop (to check the plugs and clutch), Dreyfus took a lead he would never relinquish, all 6 finishers in Bugattis.

In 1931, 16 out of the field of 23 cars were Bugattis (in what was to be a successful early appearance for the Type 51). Dreyfus led from the front row in a Maserati. Williams passed him, but stopped after 5 laps with a valve problem. Chiron was running quickly, with similar pace to the later laps of the previous year within the first 5 laps. Achille Varzi, in a Bugatti, passed Dreyfus, but punctured a tyre on a kerb after the tunnel and dropped to 5th. Chiron took over out front and was never passed, finishing five minutes ahead of Luigi Fagioli in a Maserati 26M, with Varzi in 3rd. Caracciola, retired his SSKL (the 7.1 machine supposedly a 'light' version of its predecessor) with characteristic clutch problems.

1932 was to be the final year that grids were to be decided by ballot and the first year without tramlines (the track had also been resurfaced), and excitingly, the French cars had challengers. Chiron jumped from the second row to take an early lead, breaking the lap record on Lap 6 with a 2:05. Tazio Nuvolari, in a 2.3-litre 8C Alfa Romeo Monza, was running 2nd. As Chiron came up to lap Csaikowski at the Station, the Pole pushed to stay ahead, eventually spinning at the chicane. As the Monegasque tried to avoid him, his hub-cap brushed a sandbag and he rolled over 3 times, falling out of the Bugatti, and going to the ambulance boat (he had but minor injuries). Nuvolari won the race by just 2.8 seconds from the privateer Alfa Romeo of Caracciola. Nuvolari had been making frantic signals to his pit, the team having not predicted such a pace leading to a fuel consumption at the level they saw. The team manager later suggested that had they pitted Nuvolari, he would have won, because 'Caracciola would have waited' and the Maserati of Fagioli was 2m 18 behind. Caracciola, considering himself a team member, may well have observed the principle that 'the team leader ahead at half-distance is not passed except to deny a rival'. In the end, it was academic, for Nuvolari had just made it. By now, the race time for the one hundred laps in dry conditions was down to a little over three and a half hours.

1933 surely bore witness to one of the most thrilling and epic Monaco Grands Prix to be run. Ferrari brought two modified Alfa Romeo 2.6 Monzas to be driven by Nuvolari and Baconin Borzacchini and two 2.3s for Count Carlo Felice Trossi and Eugenio Siena. Meanwhile, the list of Alfa entries also included Caracciola, Chiron and Etancelin. Caracciola had an accident in practice in which he broke a thigh and put himself out of action for a year. With practice times determining the grid, Varzi, Borzacchini and Chiron all lined up on the front row, with Nuvolari, Etancelin and Dreyfus on the second.

Varzi led from the start in his Bugatti, while Nuvolari took 1st place on Lap 4. 3 laps later, Varzi was back in front and 2 laps afterwards, Nuvolari got past. Varzi got by again on Lap 13, before getting passed on Lap 17 and leading once again on Lap 19. Fagioli and Dreyfus were also swapping places in their battle.

This intense duel continued, as Nuvolari was out front on Lap 23, Varzi on Lap 29, Nuvolari on Lap 31, Varzi on Lap 33, Nuvolari on Lap 38, Varzi on Lap 39 and Nuvolari on Lap 40. Etancelin pushed Borzacchini hard for 3rd, but lost 45 seconds when he spun into the sandbags at the chicane. On Lap 50, Varzi was back in front. Etancelin, meanwhile, was closing down Borzacchini and got passed on Lap 55. By Lap 60, the top four were within 4 seconds of each other. Etancelin's transmission broke on Lap 65 and Borzacchini had engine difficulties which led the leaders to pull away again, all the while increasing the average speed to 56.82 mph by Lap 70.

Varzi got ahead on Lap 81, Nuvolari took over on Lap 83 and began to stretch a 4-second advantage. In general, it appeared Varzi's shorter wheelbase gave him better cornering, but that Nuvolari had better acceleration. The climax of the race was no less stunning. At the start of Lap 99, Varzi got alongside and even slightly ahead of the Mantuan. Climbing to Casino Square, Varzi kept his gearbox in 3rd and revved highly at 7000 rpm to give himself everything to get ahead. Nuvolari got slightly in front, but he over-revved and a piston failed. Varzi was free for the first time all race and crossed the line way ahead of Borzacchini, whose Alfa Romeo was smoking and just reached the finish line before stopping completely. Nuvolari got out and pushed his car from the tunnel. As a mechanic started assisted him, Tazio was disqualified. Varzi had managed the fastest lap on the penultimate tour, with a 1m 59.

In 1934, Chiron, in his 2.9-litre Alfa Romeo B2900, jumped from the second row to lead on Lap 1 from Dreyfus in a Bugatti Type 51 and Etancelin in a narrow chassis 2.9 eight Maserati. Chiron pulled away carefully, never looking like making a big break, but preferring a safer drive and smaller margin. His work was made easier when Etancelin crashed into the sandbags at the Hôtel de Paris on Lap 63. Nonetheless, on Lap 98, he went into the sandbags at the Station hairpin and an Algerian who had been newly recruited to Scuderia Ferrari, Guy Moll, in an Alfa Romeo, won his first race after joining the team, thereby also becoming the youngest driver, at 23 years and 10 months, to win the Monaco Grand Prix until Lewis Hamilton in 2008.

1935 marked something of a changing of the guard, as Mercedes-Benz came to the fore. Alfred Neubauer's team entered 3 3.99-litre W.25s. As has become commonplace in recent times, Mercedes locked out the front row, with Caracciola, Manfred von Brauchitsch and Luigi Fagioli 2 and 3 seconds ahead of the nearest Alfa. Von Brauchitsch's gearbox failed on the opener, however. By Lap 3, the Mercedes were 11 seconds ahead of the Alfa Romeos and almost touching the 1933 lap record. Fagioli beat that record on Lap 6 with a 1:58.6 and was 30 seconds ahead of the highest-placed Alfa (Dreyfus) on Lap 10. Despite the Mercedes-Benz speed, there was opposition. Etancelin passed Caracciola at the Gasometer hairpin on Lap 49. After 6 laps, though, his fading brakes meant he dropped back. Caracciola stopped on Lap 65 with valve failure. Fagioli won from Dreyfus and Antonio Brivio in the Alfa Romeos.

The next year, Mercedes-Benz were joined by another German team in the form of Auto Union, who brought V16s which were the first rear-engined cars to be seen at Monaco. Mercedes, meanwhile, had short-chassis versions of the W.25, but with a bigger 4.74-litre engine. The 4.7-litre monoposto Bugatti was also brought, but did not race; the French manufacturer used 3.8 Type 59s instead. There were a range of Maseratis and the 4 Ferrari-run Alfa Romeos were 3.8 8Cs, while there were still B2900s. It was a wet race and from the start, Caracciola (Mercedes) led from Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo). Mario Tadini laid oil down on the circuit and Chiron was caught out on it. Giuseppe Farina went off too, followed by von Brauchitsch, Brivio, Trossi, Siena and Bernd Rosemeyer. The chicane was full of cars for laps and Nuvolari was the quickest through there, catching and taking the lead from Caracciola on Lap 10. Fagioli also spun his Mercedes at the chicane. The regenmeister Caracciola caught and passed Nuvolari on Lap 27 and was never headed, winning by almost a lap at an average speed of 51.69mph from Varzi and Stuck's Auto Unions. Williams, the winner of the inaugural race, finished 9th and last in his and Bugatti's final Monaco appearance.

In 1937, von Brauchitsch won in the final year before World War 2. The race was held on 8th August, in part an attempt to bring more tourists to the principality, and such a summer date has not been seen again – people always come to Monaco for the Grand Prix anyway. Auto Union had their 6-litre V16 and Mercedes-Benz their 5.66-litre W.125. Nuvolari was absent and Ferrari ran Alfa Romeos for Farina, Brivio and Carlo Maria Pintacuda. Caracciola led the early part of the race, while Rosemeyer's steering seized in his Auto Union on Lap 19. von Brauchitsch got up to 2nd and gave chase to his team-mate, ignoring pit signals to slow down. After a pit stop for Caracciola on Lap 44, von Brauchitsch led by half a lap. He waved Caracciola through on Lap 55, but then put on a charge and changed tyres and refuelled in just 1 minute 30 seconds, leaving him ahead. The Mercedes pit again signalled to him, this time to let Caracciola through, and he responded by sticking his tongue out. On Lap 74, Caracciola got alongside on the approach to Sainte Dévote, but had to cede. After various similar moves, he finally made it past on Lap 80, but for just 2 laps, as he had to stop for fuel and tyres (a 1-minute stop) and von Brauchitsch led home Caracciola and Christian Kautz in a Mercedes 1-2-3. The race average beat the record by 3.1mph and topped 100kph for the first time.

Monaco returned in 1948, with 21 entries. They included Giuseppe Farina and Piergogio Bucci in supercharged Maserati 4CLTs, Alberto Ascari, Nello Pagani and Emmanuel de Graffenried in normally-aspirated 4CLs, Louis Chiron with a Talbot o.h.c. 4.5, Cisitalia D.46s for Nuvolari and Piero Taruffi and a range of Simca-Gordinis for Maurice Trintignant, Jean-Pierre Wimille, Raymond Sommer and Prince Bira of Thailand. Originally, the organisers had had an idea that drivers would be entered in cars of their nationality. Wimille led away, before Farina got past at Sainte-Dévote. Villoresi then made it past at the Casino, but was passed again by Farina on Lap 4. He lapped the field before his first pit stop on Lap 46, in which he took a minute and a half to refuel. He eventually won by around half a minute from Louis Chiron.

After no race the following year, Monaco hosted the second round of the first ever Formula 1 world championship in 1950, with Juan Manuel Fangio winning in his Alfa Romeo by one lap, from Alberto Ascari's Ferrari and Louis Chiron's Maserati, in a time of 3:13:18.7.

Again, the race was not held the next year, but came back in 1952 in the guise of a non-championship sportscar race, which Ferraris dominated and Vittorio Marzotto won. Luigi Fagioli suffered fatal injuries in practice.

After another two years with no race, Monaco returned in 1955, from which point it was to stay on the calendar until the present day (its 2020 absence due to the pandemic notwithstanding), although that year, it was also called the Grand Prix d'Europe. The Mercedes of Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss were dominating until the Argentinian retired with transmission failure, while Moss's engine blew on Lap 80. New leader Alberto Ascari crashed into the harbour and swam to safety. He was to be killed just four days later at Monza. Maurice Trintignant won, the first French driver to win in Monaco.

Stirling Moss won for Maserati in 1956. Peter Collins, who had been second, handed his Ferrari to Juan-Manuel Fangio, who returned to the track in third, but fought back to second. He was 6.1 seconds behind Moss at the chequered flag.

Fangio won in 1957 from Tony Brooks, with Jack Brabham losing third place on the last lap due to an engine failure. He pushed the car over the finish line in sixth place. Maurice Trintignant took his second and final Grand Prix victory here in 1958, the second consecutive victory for the privateer Rob Walker Racing Team. Bernie Ecclestone entered as a driver and failed to qualify his Connaught.

Jack Brabham, who went on to win three world championships, took his first ever Grand Prix victory at Monaco in 1959, as did the Cooper Car Company team. Moss won in 1960 in a Lotus-Climax from Bruce McLaren in a Cooper-Climax. It was the first Formula 1 win for Lotus.

In 1961, Monaco held the opening round of the world championship and saw the new 1.5-litre engine rules, with Stirling Moss winning in a Lotus-Climax from the Ferraris of Richie Ginther and Phil Hill. In 1962, Jim Clark took his first Formula 1 pole position but retired with clutch problems and Bruce McLaren won in a Cooper. BRMs took 1-2 in 1963, with “Mr Monaco” Graham Hill being followed home by Richie Ginther. It was the first of his five wins in the principality and of three in a row at the Grand Prix.

1966 saw Monaco again host the opening round of the world championship and the engine formula was changed from a maximum of 1.5 litres to a maximum of 3 litres. The McLaren team made its debut, painted especially in white and green to represent the fictional Yamura team in the filming of John Frankenheimer's film, Grand Prix. With new rules stipulating that cars had to complete 90% of the race distance to be classified, several cars officially retired despite still running, those of Guy Ligier and Jo Bonnier. It was a Grand Prix of attrition and Jackie Stewart in his BRM won, from the Ferrari of Lorenzo Bandini and the BRMs of Graham Hill and Bob Bondurant. These four were the only classified finishers.

Four months after the first round of the world championship in Kylami, the second was run in Monaco in 1967 and was won by Denny Hulme in his Brabham-Repco. Lorenzo Bandini was killed after an accident at the chicane in which his car into flames. Graham Hill won from pole in 1968, the race now taking place over only 80 laps. The following year, Hill took his final victory in Monaco.

1970 saw a dramatic finish, when, on the last corner of the last lap, Jack Brabham, being chased by Jochen Rindt, locked his brakes and went into the barrier. The Australian reversed and finished runner-up, but the eventual posthumous world champion Rindt took victory. Third was Henri Pescarolo in a Matra.

Jackie Stewart won in 1971 in his Tyrrell-Ford from Ronnie Peterson in his March-Ford. The following year, Jean-Pierre Beltoise took his only and BRMs last Formula 1 win. 1973 saw a revised track layout which strongly resembles that of today and the race distance was also reduced to its current 78 laps. The new features included a longer tunnel, the Swimming Pool chicane and Rascasse. Stewart won from Fittipaldi and Peterson.

Ronnie Peterson won the Grand Prix in 1974, having started third. In 1975, in wet weather, Ferrari broke a 20-year victory drought at Monaco, with the late Niki Lauda. Fittipaldi was closing on Lauda near the end of the race, due to the Austrian's oil pressure weakening, 2.75 seconds behind with three laps left, whereupon the race was stopped at the end of that lap, reaching the two-hour limit. Extra attention had been given to installing more catch fending and guard rails, following the accident at Montjuich in the previous race.

In 1976, Lauda won again, beating the six-wheeled Tyrrell of Jody Scheckter. The South African turned the tables the following year, beating Lauda in his Wolf-Ford. 1978 saw Patrick Depailler's first win and in 1979, eventual world champion Scheckter won. 1980 is remembered for a spectacular crash at Sainte Devote in which Derek Daly flew over Bruno Giacomelli before taking out Jean-Pierre Jarier and Alain Prost. Carlos Reutemann won for Williams. After leading much of the 1981 race, Nelson Piquet spun off on Lap 53, New leader Alan Jones had a fuel feed issue and Gilles Villeneuve won for Ferrari.

1982 saw one of the most dramatic denouements to a Grand Prix ever. Early leader René Arnoux spun off. With rain starting to fall, race leader Alain Prost crashed his Renault on Lap 74. Riccardo Patrese inherited the lead but also spun at the Loews hairpin on Lap 75 and stalled. This handed the lead to Didier Pironi, who ran out of fuel in the tunnel on the last lap, Lap 76, before Andrea de Cesaris, who would have taken the lead also ran out of fuel. The next potential leader, Derek Daly, who had already lost his front and rear wing, had his gearbox seize up before he could start the last lap, leading BBC commentator James Hunt to explain that “we've got this ridiculous situation where we're all sitting about the start-finish line waiting for a winner to come past and we don't seem to be getting one”. Ricardo Patrese won the race, his first victory. Pironi and De Cesaris were classified as second and third.

Reigning world champion Keke Rosberg was first in 1983. 1984 was contentious. While the rain fell, Ayrton Senna disposed of many drivers and climbed his way up through the field from his starting position of thirteenth in his unfancied Toleman. He was closing at a rate of knots on race leader Alain Prost, who had problems locking his brakes and waved to the stewards on Lap 29 to implore them to stop the race. Clerk of the course Jacky Ickx red flagged the race on Lap 32. Driving for Porsche's factory sportscar team at the time and with Prost in a McLaren-Porsche, some viewed this as suspicious. As well as season debutant Senna making an impression in that race, and Nigel Mansell (who had led before spinning), Tyrrell's Stefan Bellof starred from 20th and last on the grid to come through and finish third.

Prost won the next two years' Monaco Grands Prix, before Ayrton Senna took the first of his record six wins in Monte Carlo in 1987. The following year, leading by 50 seconds from his McLaren team-mate Prost, Senna crashed into the barrier just after Portier and went back to his apartment, not seen until hours after the race. Prost won again. The Brazilian went on to win every edition of Monaco until 1993, but not before a tense scrap with Nigel Mansell in 1992 after the Williams driver, who had been dominating the season to that point, had to pit with a puncture and returned to the track all over the back of Senna's McLaren.

In 1994, with the changing of the guard, Michael Schumacher took the first of his five wins around the principality, also taking the victory in 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001. 1996 was a crazy Monaco Grand Prix. Schumacher crashed on the first lap, Damon Hill and Jean Alesi both retired from the lead. Damon would never manage to emulate his father Graham with victory in Monaco. Olivier Panis, who had started 14th, and included an aggressive move on Eddie Irvine at the Loews Hairpin, won the race for Ligier-Mugen Honda. There were only three cars running at the end of the race, a record, although seven cars were classified.

In 1997, Schumacher slipped up and narrowly avoided going out of the race at Sainte-Dévote, taking to the escape road, which would have handed victory to the new Stewart-Ford team. Still, Rubens Barrichello's second place was an excellent achievement for the Milton Keynes-based team, which would become Jaguar and then Red Bull.

In 1998, the McLarens dominated, with Mika Häkkinen winning from David Coulthard. Alexander Wurz put in an excellent performance and refused to budge for Michael Schumacher at the hairpin and the damage to the German's car took him out of the race.

Coulthard sandwiched Schumacher's 2001 win with victory in both 2000 and 2002. Williams, who have never been particularly successful at Monaco, won in 2003 with Juan Pablo Montoya, before Renault's Jarno Trulli, at the time competing quite well against the team's new star Fernando Alonso, took pole and the win in 2004, his only Grand Prix victory.

Kimi Räikkönen took his only win at Monaco in 2005, for McLaren, while Fernando Alonso won for Renault in 2006. Schumacher was 5th after starting at the back, due to parking his Ferrari at Rascasse to prevent Alonso taking his pole position.

Alonso won again a year later, this time for McLaren. His new teammate, newcomer Lewis Hamilton, was not happy at being instructed not to try to overtake Alonso, spending much of the race in close company with the reigning world champion. Hamilton won the race the following year, though, despite having to pit for new tyres early in the race when he hit the barrier at Tabac and while suffering a slow puncture at the end of the Grand Prix.

In 2009 Jenson Button dominated in his Brawn, before Mark Webber sandwiched Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel's 2011 win with victory in 2010 and 2012. Schumacher took his final 'pole' in the latter year, but was demoted five places on the grid for a collision in the previous race in Spain.

In 2013, Nico Rosberg managed to do what Damon Hill never did and emulated his father by winning in Monte Carlo. He repeated the feat in 2014, but not after a qualifying incident which had echoes of Schumacher's Rascasse mischief, as Rosberg locked up at Mirabeau, thereby preventing Hamilton taking pole from him. He was not found guilty, however.

Then, in 2015, it seemed that Lewis Hamilton was going to win, but after the first ever virtual safety car came out following Max Verstappen's monster accident at Sainte-Dévote, the gap and time to Rosberg was miscalculated and he was called into the pits for a precautionary stop, which dropped him into third place.

In 2016, it was Daniel Ricciardo's turn to suffer the pain of seeing victory slip away as his Red Bull team did not have the tyres ready during a stop. Hamilton took the win. A year later, Vettel headed home team-mate Räikkönen, with Ricciardo coming home 3rd, while in 2018, the Australian made up for 2016, impressively nursing a car with an MGU-K failure and only 6 out of 8 gears to the victory. Vettel was 2nd and Hamilton 3rd.

In 2019, Max Verstappen attempted a late move on Hamilton at the Nouvelle Chicane, netting him a penalty, which demoted him to 4th at the finish. Meanwhile, Hamilton took his third Monaco victory, from Vettel and Valtteri Bottas.

After a year's absence, Charles Leclerc's perpetual bad run at Monaco continued in 2021, as he qualified on pole, but hit the wall near the end of Q3, before not starting the race due to a cracked left-rear driveshaft hub. This left Verstappen clear to win, from Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari and Lando Norris in the McLaren, who had qualified 4th and 5th respectively. Hamilton got stuck in his qualifying position of 7th and remained there till the end.

Last year, the race was initially delayed by nine minutes due to approaching heavy rainfall in order to permit teams to change to wet tyres. Two formation laps followed a further seven minutes later, before a power failure set the race back yet more. The race finally got under way a little over an hour after the scheduled start time, beginning with a rolling start and all drivers on wets. Pole man Leclerc led away and built a margin over Ferrari teammate Sainz and Sergio Pérez. Pérez pitted for inters, as did Verstappen and Leclerc, leaving Sainz the leader. Both Ferrari drivers were then told to pit to switch to slicks shortly afterwards, although the team retracted the instruction to Leclerc as he was already coming in. This dropped Leclerc to 4th, as he came in just behind Sainz.

A big crash for Mick Schumacher prompted a VSC, followed by a full SC and then a red flag. The Ferraris kept their hard tyres on, but both Red Bulls swapped to new mediums. Pérez led away on the restart, holding on to win from Sainz and Verstappen, while Leclerc ended up in 4th. Only 64 laps were run, as the race hit the three-hour limit.

[Born Racer]

Trivia

Of the current field, Hamilton has the most wins, with three, while Alonso has two to his name and Red Bull teammates Verstappen and Pérez have one apiece.

The oldest driver to ever enter a Formula 1 race was Monegasque Louis Chiron - aged 58 years and 288 days - in the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix.

Chrion's compatriot Charles Leclerc has never made it onto the Monaco podium, although he did finally finish a race here for the first time last year.

Monaco holds the record for the fewest classified finishers in world championship history (four in 1966). Only four took the chequered flag in 1996, although seven were classified.

Only the Italian Grand Prix has a longer world championship history at the same circuit, being held at Monza every year since the inception of the championship in 1950 with the exception of 1980. However, the Monaco Grand Prix has, of course, always been held on this track.

However, Monaco has had a less interrupted history on the same track. Until 2020, it was run every year since 1955.

Monte Carlo is the shortest track on the calendar.

It also has the slowest corner - Turn 6 (the hairpin).

It is the only Grand Prix that doesn't have to run to the minimum 305km race distance.

Only Graham Hill has won the fabled Triple Crown of Motorsport. Fernando Alonso may still be trying and he already has Monaco and Le Mans in the bag.

There have been four Formula 1 drivers from Monaco - Louis Chiron (who won here), André Testut, Olivier Beretta and Ferrari incumbent Charles Leclerc.

This is a track where teams often produce a special livery and drivers present a special helmet design. To promote the film Ocean's 12 in 2004, Jaguar attached diamonds to the nosecones. Christian Klien crashed on Lap 1 and the diamond was not seen again. David Coulthard got on the podium in third in a Superman cape during more film promotion in 2006. Personally, I think Aston Martin should run a 007 livery, but they don't have a new Bond film to promote.

Coulthard wore a Michael Schumacher helmet in 1996, which he also took to the podium, although this was because the Ferrari driver lent him one after his own steamed up too much. Lewis Hamilton ran a Niki Lauda tribute helmet in 2019, shortly after the triple world champion's death.

McLaren have the most wins of any team here - 15. Ferrari are next up with 10 and then Mercedes with 9.

The last time there were consecutive pole positions in Monaco was in 2013 and 2014, with Nico Rosberg. Since then, in chronological order, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Räikkönen, Ricciardo again, Hamilton again, Verstappen and then Leclerc have been on pole.

Monaco is Round 7 of the championship, although after Imola was called off, it is the sixth race.

Red Bull have won all five races so far. The last time a team won the first six races of a season was in 2019 - Mercedes took the first eight. They also took the first six in 2014, before losing out in the next round (both times to Red Bull).

In 1992, 1996 Williams and 2004 Williams (in the first two instances) and Ferrari (in the latter) won the first five rounds, before ending their streak in Monaco.



The track




Other information

Circuit length: 3.337km
Number of laps: 78
Race distance: 260.286km
Race Lap Record: 1:12.909 (Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes - 2021)
Dry weather tyre compounds: C3, C4 and C5

First Monaco Grand Prix: 1929
First Grand Prix at this circuit: 1929
First World Championship Grand Prix: 1950
First Grand Prix on current configuration: 2015

Join in the fun with the F1 Predictions Contest and Fantasy F1:

https://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157981

https://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157755

[BTCC frog]

Monaco is possibly the race I look forward to most every season, along with Silverstone and Albert Park when it was the opening round, with Spa-Francorchamps slipping back a little, Suzuka also near the top and Zandvoort the new recruit amongst the top tracks.

But Monaco is so unique among racing tracks. The best thing about it is that it requires more skill than any other track on the calendar to drive on, meaning that the driver becomes more important and freak results are more likely. Lando Norris, who hasn't really had a car worthy of his talents recently, clearly punched above his weight in both the last two Monaco Grands Prix, while Leclerc was able to take pole in 2021, helped by the fact that the track also rewards different cars, in that case the Ferrari, so upsets are more likely. But the final qualifying lap of the polesitter at Monaco is one of the biggest highlights of the season, and it is a shame that it was curtailed by crashes these last two seasons, particularly in 2022 when Leclerc's amazing lap was ruined because of Perez's deliberate crash, and hopefully there is not a repeat this season. It is truly spectacular to watch these cars absolutely going for it, so close to the walls without making any mistakes.

I can see Charles Leclerc going for an absolute bin it or win it attitude in qualifying this year, and hopefully making it work to secure a third consecutive pole position in Monaco. Then typically Monaco's biggest drawback is that it is so difficult to overtake that races can become processional, but this year has so far been ruined by the fact that overtaking is so easy. On three separate occasions this year, a driver from outside Red Bull has led the race, in fact from each of the three chasing teams, and on each occasion the pass for the lead by the Red Bulls has been totally inevitable and boring because of DRS. In Monaco, if Leclerc, Alonso or Hamilton can put in an amazing qualifying lap and take pole position, they will actually be able to defend the lead and we could have an entire race of Verstappen and Perez trying to overtake but finding it difficult, and if they do come through it will have to be with an outstanding overtake. So being difficult to overtake will be a positive, for once.

The difficulty in overtaking only usually makes Monaco boring because the cars cannot even get close enough to try it, which is a problem with the current cars rather than the track, and if they were able to follow extremely closely and often have a look to pass, but find it hard to actually go through then the races would be brilliant and not processional at all. But even a slightly processional race is worth keeping Monaco for the qualifying laps and the history, and if you look at the last ten years, with cars that cannot follow closely, almost every Monaco GP has very much had something going for it.

And the history is the other thing that makes Monaco special. It is somewhat remarkable that five of the seven tracks on the original calendar of 1950 are still active today (Monaco, Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, while the Indy 500 is no longer part of the calendar but still exists as a race with the same amount of significance to the F1 season as it did in 1950), albeit not in the same form but still recognisable. Monaco has changed the least of the four by far, and it is extremely special to know that these are the same streets that Tazio Nuvolari and Achille Varzi fought for victory on in 1933, as well as all the Monaco GPs that came in between. When thinking back about the Monaco GPs every season, it is far easier to remember what happened there than any other Grand Prix, because it is such a significant race. Thanks for the excellent intro, as usual Born Racer.

There is a reason why the Monaco Grand Prix now forms the third part of the unofficial 'Triple Crown' of motorsport (even if originally it was the F1 championship) along with the Indy 500 which is happening on the same day as usual, making this the biggest day of the year for motor racing, and the 24 hours of Le Mans. It can never be scrapped from the calendar. This should be a great weekend of motor racing.

[Greem]

That is a FANTASTIC intro, BR. Much applause.

Anyway: FP1 and Albon has stuck it in the wall at St Devote. Nasty oversteer, rear left hit the end of the tyre wall and snapped the left front into the barrier.

[Richard C]

Nice intro. Lots of great details!

I can imagine qualifying order might be surprising as Monaco is so different from others. For example, lets say Red Bull's performance is due to effective optimization of ride height and how that supports their aero concept. Given the undulations, etc. of Monaco, might their core strengths not play out as well here?

Richard

[bjohnsonsmith]

Excellent intro as ever.

It's always a bit of a dilemma with Monaco. Such an iconic track, steeped in history, yet the actual racing is at a premium because of the issues with overtaking. Nevertheless, I do look forward to it and I will be watching.

[Mike Harte]

BR, you've outdone yourself with today's intro. We will be expecting the same or even better in the future!

[chillibowl]

yeah great intro...all that history and trivia has even got me excited!

lets hope the update packages make for a better battle up front...looking for AM and Alonso to shine here!

[Lancsbreaker]

FP2 is getting frantic. Less than a second covering the first 15!


Albon still awaiting his car rebuild with 20 minutes of FP2 to go.


Verstappen has struggled with traffic, having moaned about his car in FP1, but has just taken P1 from Sainz, Alonso, Leclerc and Norris, with Hamilton 6th.
Perez 7th.....



Yellow flag now out.....and now a red as Sainz bins it.........


15 minutes to go - it "might" be restarted?

[Lancsbreaker]

No big change after the restart......Albon did get out but only recorded last place times...


Most teams trying some full fuel runs.


Lets see how FP3 and qualy go tomorrow. Possibility of rain for Sunday ?

[Born Racer]

Haha, thank you. I don't know if I can top that for quantity. It didn't even let me put it in one post.

[Gerard C]

Sainz checking the new track limits rules? Weather forecast good for Sat should be OK during the race too.

[billy bleach]

What happened to the No screens infront of the Garage rule?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Qualifying has been red flagged, after Perez goes into the barrier at Sainte Devote. As Martin Brundle pointed out, the photographers will be getting a good look at the underside of the Red Bull.

[chillibowl]

That was a really fun session!

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

What happened to the No screens infront of the Garage rule?

That is a good question. I watched some of FP2 yesterday and during that a comment was made by the pit side commentary team that covers were allowed to hide the underbody floor/wing.

However when I look at the current sporting regulations (which covers this topic in Article 21 "COVERING OF COMPONENTS DURING A COMPETITION") it does include some exceptions to cover practical situations ("needed solely for mechanical reasons") and in in 21.3 they have a specific list of exclusions, but none mention covering the floors. I have not watched FP3, so I don't know what might have been covered then

a) Covers which are placed over damaged cars or components.
b) A transparent tool tray, no more than 50mm deep, placed on top of the rear wing.
c) Warming or heat retaining covers for the engine and gearbox on the grid.
d) A rear wing cover designed specifically to protect a mechanic starting the car from fire.
e) Covers over the tyre manufacturer’s code numbers (not the FIA bar code numbers).
f) A cover over the car in the parc fermé overnight.
g) A cover over the car in the pit lane or grid if it is raining.
h) Tyre heating blankets as described in Article 10.8.4d) and 10.8.5 of the Technical
Regulations.

Richard

[bjohnsonsmith]

I can't remember a Q3 at Monaco like that. Amazing stuff.

[seanyb505]

Quite impressive. Seemed the track was evolving at a decent rate. Surely Sergio swaps in a few components while in a poor starting position.

[E.B]

That has to be the best qualy session I have seen in many a year.

[Richard C]

Fantastic Q3. That must have been a monster sector 3 by Max at the end. I do wish Alonso had been on poll. That would have been a great story.

Richard

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

Fantastic Q3. That must have been a monster sector 3 by Max at the end. I do wish Alonso had been on poll. That would have been a great story.

Richard

It 'would' have been Fernando's first pole since Germany in 2012 when he was with Ferrari.

Had it happened it would also have taken him straight to the top of the table for largest gaps between pole positions..... that honour is still held by Kimi at a few days under 9 years, from France 2008 - Monaco 2017.

[Gerard C]

Magic Max.

[seanyb505]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Magic Max.

This is ironically hilarious. In other corners of the internet, a user by the name of really3d makes horrible 3d animations of race recaps. The recaps are all in Spanish, and recount races with incredible absurdity. Nearly every race features magic Alonso, and how he does things like changes his own tires, and wins absolutely every race. Max, on the other hand, is portrayed as cheating in some crazy way and usually ends up in jail. Worth a Google.

[Sodemo]

If the radar is to be believed, tomorrows race might well be wet.

[Gerard C]

https://meteofrance.com/meteo-monde/...carlo/M2992741
https://www.accuweather.com/fr/mc/mo...ast/5174?day=2 Mainly hot and dry but thunderstroms at the end of the afternoon.


@seanyb505: thanks! other strange coincidence, I only raced once at Monaco, driving a… 505! (one make series)