F1. Why the Monaco Grand Prix is a legendary race
The Monegasques pushed the walls and gave birth, in 1929, to an unnatural circuit. The only one in urban area. Dominated by the buildings of Monte-Carlo as well as the rocky peaks, it overlooks the Mediterranean and the Riva which disturb its usual calm.
Sunday, the single-seaters will spin for the 79and times in the narrow streets of the Rock. Just behind Max Verstappen in the championship standings, Charles Leclerc is obviously invited to offer himself a first victory in the city where he was born. He would thus write a chapter of the myth that surrounded the very particular circuit of Monte-Carlo. Why is the Monaco Grand Prix always eagerly awaited?
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One of the oldest car races in the world
The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the three prestigious circuits that make up the “Triple Crown”. It includes the Monegasque race, the Indianapolis 500 in Indy Car and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. To date, only one man has worn this crown: the English driver Graham Hill (winner at Monaco in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968 and 1969; winner at Indianapolis in 1966; and at Le Mans in 1972).
The circuit was taken care of by Prince Pierre of Monaco aboard a Torpedo Voisin driven by Charles Faroux, the race director. The first edition of the Grand Prix, in 1929, was won by William Grover-Williams on Bugatti. A statue of the pilot in his car pays homage to him at the marina.
This is Ayrton Senna’s circuit
Ayrton Senna remains the record holder for victories on the Rock. He won six times in ten appearances (1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993) and remains the only Brazilian to win there. It is also the circuit of revelation for him, during the 1984 edition of the race.
On June 3, in the streets of Monte Carlo, the Frenchman Alain Prost found himself in the lead after the abandonment of Nigel Mansell, under torrents of rain. For the sixth Grand Prix of her career, Senna, aged 24, made an unthinkable comeback, allowed herself to overtake Niki Lauda to come back from the 13and in second place with his modest Toleman. In ten laps, he took ten seconds from his future historic rival Alain Prost. At 31and lap, Senna is given the winner but the race director puts an end to the race because of the rain. Indelible memory for the public! His dolphins, in terms of poles and victories, are Graham Hill and Michael Schumacher (5 each) then Alain Prost (4, for as many poles).
You can watch it from its terrace
Monte-Carlo has the smallest spectator capacity with 37,000 spectators (including 22,000 in the stands). However, and unlike many other circuits, there are a large number of spectators who can watch the race without a ticket.
Over four days, nearly 200,000 people can follow the Grand Prix from the stands, a building balcony, a restaurant terrace or even from a yacht moored in the port. With a peak in attendance on the day of the race itself, which attracted nearly 100,000 spectators.
It is the most difficult circuit of the competition
It is the busiest circuit in the world championship and it is almost impossible to overtake. With its chicanes, its 19 turns including a few hairpins at the end of straight lines where the drivers pick up speed, a tunnel and an unreasonably narrow track, the drivers have no time to breathe. The hairpin bend at the Grand Hôtel, located halfway through the lap, imposes a reduced speed of 45 to 50 km/h on the drivers, the slowest in the entire championship.
In addition to being particularly difficult, the Monaco Grand Prix initially counted too many laps, raising fears for the lives of the drivers. In 1967, the Monaco Grand Prix turned into a disaster. For more than 70 laps, Italian Lorenzo Bandini chased behind Denny Hulme. Exhausted by the pursuit, he misses the port chicane and hits the barriers. Trapped in his burning car, he died three days later from his injuries. After this tragedy, the organizers decided to reduce the race from 100 to 80 laps.
It’s at Charles Leclerc
The 24-year-old driver knows every corner of the Monegasque circuit better than preventively. Born in the Principality, it is important to Charles Leclerc, current second in the championship, to shine at home. Under contract with Ferrari since 2019, he is the third Monegasque driver to compete in the premier category, after Louis Chiron and Olivier Beretta.
Unlucky on the Monegasque circuit since then, the public still witness a first victory for Charles Leclerc at home. Forced to retire before the race in 2021, the Monegasque was unable to start the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago for the same reason: the vagaries of the Ferrari engine.
Other Formula 1 drivers have only to leave their luxury residence to join their paddock in Monaco. This is the case of Lewis Hamilton, in particular, who particularly appreciates the circuit and the stay in Monaco: “Between the boats, coming home at night… Everything is different here. »
A TV hit every year
The Grand Prix is the most publicized Monegasque event. It engages 900 hours of live television and 1.2 billion viewers.
And the outcome of the races is not so predictable as that…
Is the Monaco circuit necessarily blocked for the poleman? In 1996, the feat of Frenchman Olivier Panis, the last French winner of the Monaco Grand Prix and of an F1 race, quite simply, belied this received idea: he won starting from the 14and place… under unusual circumstances. Only three drivers out of 22 finished classified, which still constitutes, in 2022, the record number of race retirements.
The last improbable scenario at the Monaco Grand Prix undoubtedly remains the disappointment of Daniel Ricciardo in 2016. The Australian, a Red Bull driver at the time, had taken pole. An error in the pits ruined his race. On the drying track, the drivers all returned to be fitted with soft tyres.
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But those of Ricciardo are not loaned and the Australian loses precious time in the pits, finally leaving behind Lewis Hamilton. The Aussie driver got his revenge in 2018, as his Grand Prix victories just started to thin out.