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There are 24 races in the current Formula 1 calendar, but none like Round 6 – the Monaco Grand Prix. If you have any interest in motorsport, you will automatically know that apart from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Monaco GP is one of the world’s oldest four-wheeled motorsport events.
High octane action has been the hallmark of the glitzy and glamorous capital of Monte Carlo for a long time before the Formula 1 World Championship started. Or even the Second World War, for that matter, with the first race having taken place here in 1929. A permanent fixture since the start of the F1 World Championship in 1950, this circuit alone has seen more World Champions at the wheel than any other circuit in the world.
Over the decades, the cars have transformed and become much larger, while the streets of the city, which is where the racing happens, have remained the same. Which means, over the years, it has become increasingly difficult to overtake here. The fact that, unlike other modern purpose-built circuits, Monaco’s streets have no real run-offs and racing often happens frightfully close to the waters of the marina, means from time to time, Formula 1 at Monaco throws up some incredibly dramatic moments. Here’s a list of five that we think are absolutely iconic.
Seven-time F1 World Champ Michael Schumacher was the poster child of controversy. In 2006, at Monaco during the qualifying round, Schumacher needed to defend his provisional pole position from title challenger Fernando Alonso. As the seconds ticked down towards the end, he failed to make a right turn, nearly headed off the track, and then eventually came to a halt at the exit of the right-hand turn. With the marshals waving yellow flags to warn others of the obstruction on the track, Alonso and other drivers were unable to complete their session. Crucially, it meant that Schumacher would be able to retain his pole position on the starting grid on the next day.
That fateful race could have been Mansell’s first F1 victory. Driving the Lotus 95T, he qualified to start from the second position on the starting grid, alongside McLaren’s Alain Prost. The race started, and it began raining, making the streets of Monaco slippery. In torrential rain with plumes of water spraying from the car tyres, Mansell drove brilliantly, taking the lead from Prost on the 11th lap of the race. On lap 15, however, Lady Luck deserted him. His car tyres touched a white line on the street, he lost control, and crashed out while leading. A heartbreaking moment for him, Team Lotus, and Mansell fans.
This was an epic battle, like the ones we have rarely seen. Nigel Mansell, in his Williams-Renault, chased down Ayrton Senna in his McLaren-Honda all the way to the chequered flag. Those of us who saw it knew that it was special, and we would probably never see a fight like that again. Mansell’s car, powered by a Renault 3.5L V10, featured active suspension, which made it vastly easier to handle over Monaco’s kerbs compared to Senna’s 3.5L V12-powered car with passive suspension. That weekend, we all knew that Senna’s McLaren wasn’t on pace. So the fight down to the wire was the stuff of legend.
Brazilian Ayrton Senna was the undisputed king of qualifying throughout his F1 career. His record of 65 pole positions out of his 162 race starts is evidence. In 1988, driving for McLaren-Honda, Senna qualified on pole for the Monaco GP with a lap time of 1:23.998 minutes over the 3.337km length of the legendary street circuit. Later, the legend would go on record to state that he had felt a divine presence and had an out-of-body experience. His lap time was nearly one and a half seconds less than that of his teammate, Alain Prost, in a similar car.
Charles Leclerc’s win at Monaco two years ago for Ferrari was nothing short of historic. And it wasn’t because of the scarlet liveried car that he was driving for once. Although winning at Monte Carlo in a Ferrari will always be special since that combination means F1’s oldest competitor winning at F1’s oldest race, what made 2024 really special is that Leclerc is a home boy. He is from Monaco. This has never happened before in the history of the Formula 1 World Championship. The last time a driver from Monaco won a grand prix on the streets of Monaco was in 1931. World War II was still eight years away and the F1 Championship as we know it, nearly 20 years in the future.
