Monaco History

The Principality of Monaco hosts every year the Monaco Grand Prix, one of the oldest and the most prestigious car races on a street circuit laid out in 1929 by Antony Noghes, son of the President of the Monaco Automobile Club, under the auspices of Prince Louis II of Monaco. The creation was the answer to a genuine challenge, the organization of a competition on the cramped territory of Monaco (about 1,5 sqkm at the time), condition required by the Commission Sportive Internationale for the Automobile Club de Monaco to be recognized on an international basis.

Actually, the other important Monaco competition, the Monte-Carlo rally, created in 1911, was held on the roads of numerous European countries. From then on, the Principality will know only fourteen years without a Grand Prix. The Monaco track snakes around the Hercules harbour, in the streets of Monte-Carlo and of  La Condamine, linking tight curves. The narrow track is one of the most demanding and makes overtaking difficult. However, The Automobile Club has constantly improved the track over the years, concerning in particular the layout of the refuelling pitches. There is no sense in talking about anachronism about this circuit as since it was created many years ago, its existence has always been paradoxical. However the aura of this Grand Prix and the passion it arouses make it a key event of each Formula 1 season.

The Monaco Grand Prix was the second event planned for the 1950 World Championship (May 21st). However, the 1952 Grand Prix race was not included in the Formula 1 World Championship, because the organizers chose to favour the sport category rather than the F1. After a short pause of two years without a race, the Monaco Grand Prix resumes in 1955 with Formula 1 cars. The race has been part of the calendar of the Formula 1 World championship every year ever since. The highest number of victories on this circuit in the Formula 1 category is held by Ayrton Senna, who won 6 times in 10 participations. The Monaco Grand Prix is organized by the Automobile Club de Monaco created under the name of Sport Vélocipédique de Monaco in 1890, which also organizes the Rallye automobile Monte-Carlo, historical events, a competition for electric or hybrid cars and the coupe de Kart de Monaco.

* Fastest race lap: Michael Schumacher in 1 min 14 s 439 (2004, Ferrari)

* Fastest lap for pole position: Fernando Alonso in 1 min 13 s 962 (2006, Renault)

Main facts

1950 : On the first race lap, the Italian pilot Farina (winner the week before in Silverstone of the first Grand prix of the World Championship history) makes a mistake coming out of the « Bureau de Tabac » curve, causing what still remains to this day  of the biggest pile-ups in the Formula 1 history, as ten pilots had to retire. Fangio, who has started ahead, does not discover the massacre until the next lap and succeeds to thread his way at low speed through the abandoned single-seaters. He told afterwards that he had guessed the track was obstructed (the “Bureau de Tabac” curve is a “blind” curve) as he noticed the spectators were not looking his way. Relieved of his main competitors, the Argentinean easily won his first World Championship success.

1955 : Overwhelmingly favourites, the two fearsome Mercedes W196 of Fangio and Moss both break their engine. The oil spread on the track by the Mercedes of Moss is probably the cause of one of the most famous accidents in Formula 1 history, as Alberto Aspari looses control of his Lancia while braking at the hairpin and plunges in the harbour waters. The Italian champion is rescued from drowning thanks to the frogmen’s watchfulness and gets out of it by a miracle with a mere cut on the nose, but will die a few days later in another accident in Monza. The race is won by Maurice Trintignant (Ferrari) who becomes the first French pilot to win a World Championship race.

1960 : Stirling Moss wins the event on a private Lotus of the Rob Walker Racing. It is the first victory of a Lotus in a World Championship.

1961 : Moss repeats his feat of the former season. Still in a private Lotus of the Rob Walker Racing, he dominates the high-powered Ferraris of Ginther, P.Hill and Von Trips.

1965 : Forced to a mad catching-up after he went straight on at the harbour hairpin and had to get out of his car to push it backwards, G. Hill wins his third consecutive race in Monaco. As a praise for his great rival Jim Clark, absent as he’s taking part in the 500 miles of Indianapolis the next day, Hill will have these now famous words: Today I felt I was capable of beating anybody, even Clark. »

1967 : Chasing for nearly two hours behind the future winner and World Champion-to-be Denny Hulme, the Italian Lorenzo Bandini, totally exhausted, make a mistake at the harbour hairpin and violently hits the barriers. Stuck in his car in flames, he will die of his wounds three days later. After this drama, the organizers decide to cut the length of the event from 100 to 80 laps, or from 2h30 to 2 hours according to the average speeds at that time.

1970 : Just when he seemed to have race won despite the come back of Jochen Rindt, the Australian Jack Brabham makes a mistake in the last curve and offers victory to the Austrian pilot. 1972 : Run under a rainstorm, the race is dominated by the surprising Jean-Pierre Beltoise at the wheel of his BRM V12. This will remain the only Formula 1 success of the French pilot.

1981 : Gilles Villeneuve wins after a genuine tightrope walker sideshow in his Ferrari turbo, whose technical characteristics (very powerful engine lacking progressiveness) are not suitable for the Monaco track.

1982 : The event is disturbed by the rain in the last laps and gives an extravagant final stage: Trapped by the change of grip, the leader Alain Prost hits the rail in the penultimate lap. He is relayed ahead by Ricardo Patrese, who makes a mistake in his turn. Didier Pironi succeeds to him but runs out of petrol in the last lap. Behind Pironi, Derek Daly et Andrea de Cesaris also run out of petrol. Victory finally goes to Patrese who is back on the track thanks to the helpful stewards in spite of his spin and who signs his first Formula 1 win.

1983 : The start is given on a damp but drying track. As the users of powerful turbo engines have to fit rain tyres, the current World champion Keke Rosberg in his Williams with non-turbocharged Cosworth engine takes the risk to start with “slick” tyres. The Finn manages to take the lead from the start of the race and builds a definitive gap when his competitors have to stop to fit slick tyres.

1984 : For the third consecutive year, the rain is part of the game and the start is given under a rainstorm. After a booming race start by Nigel Mansell who eventually hits the rail, Alain Prost takes the lead of the race. But eyes quickly turn towards the young Brazilian pilot Ayrton Senna (who is taking part in his sixth Formula 1 race only) who started at the back of the grid in his modest Toleman, has achieved an amazing catching-up to the second place and quickly bridges the gap with Alain Prost.  But the race manager Jacky Ickx takes the controversial decision to stop the race with the red flag for security reasons after the 31st lap and as Ayrton Senna has come back on the heels of Alain Prost. (Ickx will be dismissed from his post as a race manager by the FISA after this decision).

1988 : Ayrton Senna seems to have race won with a 50-second lead over his team-mate Alain Prost (admittedly slowed down for a long time by the Ferrari of Berger) but looses concentration 11 laps from the finish line and hits the rail in the “Portier” curve.

1993 : Ayrton Senna wins the Grand Prix, for the sixth time, five times in a row. He thus beats the record of Graham Hill, whose son Damon stands next to him on the podium.

1994 : Run only two weeks after the deadly accidents of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna, the event is marked by the accident during the first tests of the Austrian pilot Karl Wendlinger, who lost control of his Sauber coming out of the tunnel, the fastest place of the track. Suffering from a severe cranial trauma, he will spend several weeks in coma before coming back to competition.

1996 : Under the rain, taking advantage of several retirements ahead but also with several daring overtaking manoeuvres (particularly on Irvine’s Ferrari), Olivier Panis makes the surprise and offers victory to the Ligier team, then in a real predicament, their first success since the 1981 season. Only 3 pilots manage to cross the line. This is the last win of a French pilot in the World Championship.

1997 : Run again under the rain, the race is yet again the scenery of a coconut shy. As the new strong man in Monaco, Michael Schumacher wins the race for the third time.

2003 : After his victory in the Principality’s streets, Juan Pablo Montoya becomes the second pilot in history after Graham Hill to write his name down on the honours list of the Monaco Grand Prix and of the Indianapolis 500.

2004 : Having dominated a race tainted with numerous accidents (among them the crash under the tunnel during neutralized time between Schumacher and Montoya, relegated one lap behind) Jarno Trulli wins his first (and to this day only) Formula 1 Grand Prix.