50 Fun Facts About Monaco Grand Prix

In which year was the first Monaco Grand Prix held?

It was an invitation-only race run on 14 April; the leading Maserati and Alfa Romeo drivers stayed away.

Who organised the first race in 1929 through the Automobile Club de Monaco?

He needed a race wholly inside Monaco to win the club full national status; he is also credited with proposing the chequered flag to end races.

The 1929 winner raced under a one-word pseudonym. What was his real name?

He drove a works Bugatti Type 35B; Caracciola came from fifteenth to second in a 7-litre Mercedes SSK despite losing four and a half minutes in the pits.

Which Monégasque driver won the 1931 race and remained the only home winner for 93 years?

He missed the first race because he was committed to the Indianapolis 500; the Bugatti Chiron hypercar is named after him.

The 1933 Monaco Grand Prix was the first Grand Prix to set the grid by what method?

Varzi and Nuvolari swapped the lead many times until Nuvolari's car caught fire on the last lap.

The stormy 1936 race was won by which driver, living up to his nickname 'Regenmeister'?

A broken oil line caused a series of crashes that took out three Mercedes and Rosemeyer's Auto Union.

Who took his first World Championship win at Monaco in 1950, the race's first year in the championship?

Louis Chiron, aged 51, finished third; the race was not held again in the championship until 1955.

Which driver crashed into the harbour while leading in 1955 and had to swim to safety?

He misjudged the chicane out of the tunnel in his Lancia; four days later he was killed testing at Monza.

Who inherited the lead in 1955 to win in a Ferrari thought to be uncompetitive?

He started ninth and won again in 1958 in a Cooper; the same race saw Louis Chiron start at 55, still the oldest F1 starter.

In 1961 Stirling Moss held off three works Ferraris to win in what car?

It was his third Monaco win, for Rob Walker's private team.

'Mr. Monaco' Graham Hill won the race five times in the 1960s. In which year was the first?

He won the next two years as well, then 1968 and 1969, the last being his final championship victory.

In 1965 Graham Hill won despite going up an escape road on lap 25 to avoid what?

He rejoined fifth and set several lap records; the same race Paul Hawkins put his Lotus in the harbour.

Graham Hill is the only driver to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsport. Which race did he win last, in 1972?

He had won Indy in 1966 and Monaco five times; Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya each have two of the three.

Armco barriers were first placed at specific points on the Monaco circuit for which year's race?

Before that a driver who went off could hit buildings, trees, lamp posts, a train station or the sea; by 1972 the track was almost fully lined.

The double chicane added in 1973 wraps around which new facility, giving the section its name?

The pits had already moved to the waterfront in 1972, the first change to the layout in the circuit's history.

Who won the 1982 race after bump-starting his stalled car amid repeated late lead changes?

Prost crashed with four laps left, Patrese spun, Pironi ran out of fuel in the tunnel and de Cesaris ran dry before he could pass.

What was clerk of the course Jacky Ickx punished with for stopping the rain-hit 1984 Monaco Grand Prix?

He had not consulted the stewards; only half points were awarded because two-thirds of the distance had not been run.

Senna's 1984 charge through the rain came in a car from which team?

It was his debut season; Bellof's Tyrrell was the only naturally aspirated car in the race and was catching them both.

For which reason did FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre try to drop Monaco from the 1985 championship?

The Automobile Club de Monaco fought the case in the French courts and won.

The Nouvelle Chicane was added in 1986 by doing what?

It remains almost the only place where the circuit has been widened as F1 cars have grown.

Senna's 1987 win was the first Grand Prix victory for a car with what technology?

He won in a Lotus after Nigel Mansell's Williams retired with a broken exhaust, and was arrested the next day for riding a motorcycle without a helmet.

In 1988 Senna crashed out of a big lead at which corner and went home to his flat instead of the pits?

Prost had just set a lap six seconds faster; Senna responded with two fastest laps before touching the barrier and was not heard from until evening.

How many times did Ayrton Senna win the Monaco Grand Prix, the record?

Five of them came consecutively from 1989 to 1993, and he stood on the podium in eight of ten starts.

In 1992 Nigel Mansell lost a certain win with seven laps to go because of what?

On fresh tyres he closed from 5.2 to 1.9 seconds in two laps but could not pass Senna, finishing two-tenths behind.

Who said after Senna's record sixth Monaco win in 1993 that his late father would be first to congratulate him?

He had finished second; Senna had qualified only third behind Prost and Michael Schumacher.

Which driver went into a coma after crashing his Sauber in the tunnel at the 1994 event?

He missed the rest of the season; Michael Schumacher won the race and again in 1995.

Who won the 1996 race from 14th on the grid, his only F1 victory and Ligier's last?

Schumacher crashed on lap one, Damon Hill's engine blew in the tunnel and Alesi's suspension failed; only three cars were running at the end.

How many cars crossed the finish line in the 1996 race?

Seven were classified; David Coulthard pushed Panis all the way.

Michael Schumacher was sent to the back of the 2006 grid for stopping his car where during qualifying?

He was provisionally on pole; the FIA rejected his claim of a genuine car failure.

How many Monaco wins did Michael Schumacher end with, matching Graham Hill?

The first two came in 1994 and 1995 for Benetton.

The 2020 cancellation was the first time the race had not been run since which year?

The 2020 event was scrapped outright because of COVID-19 rather than postponed; it had run 64 years in a row from 1955.

Charles Leclerc took pole in 2021 but could not start the race. Why?

He had crashed at the end of qualifying; the damage was found on the way to the grid.

In which year did Charles Leclerc become the second Monégasque winner of his home race?

The top ten finished in their starting order and there were no successful overtakes.

What rule did the FIA impose for the 2025 race after the processional 2024 edition?

Drivers had to use three sets of tyres; it did not improve the racing and Lando Norris won from pole. The rule was dropped for 2026.

Who set the fastest ever Monaco qualifying lap, 1:09.954, in 2025?

He went on to win the race from pole.

From 2026 the race was moved to when, ending its clash with the Indianapolis 500?

It was traditionally held around Ascension Day; the race's contract runs to 2035.

How long is a lap of the Circuit de Monaco?

It is the shortest lap on the calendar and the only Grand Prix allowed to fall short of the 305 km minimum distance.

The slowest corner in Formula One, taken at about 48 km/h, is which Monaco hairpin?

It was the Station Hairpin until the Loews hotel opened on the site in 1973, and has changed name with the hotel since.

The 2021 race featured how many overtakes in 78 laps?

Mick Schumacher passed his Haas teammate Nikita Mazepin on the opening lap, and that was it.

The harbour the circuit runs beside is called what?

The rich arrive by yacht and the harbour fills with parties after the race.

Which triple world champion likened racing at Monaco to 'riding a bicycle around your living room'?

He added that a win there was worth two anywhere else.

How long does it take to erect the Monaco circuit each year?

Taking it down again takes three weeks.

Until 2017, where was Monaco's unusual podium ceremony held?

The top three left their cars in a closed section of track and walked up; trophies were handed out before the anthems, the reverse of every other race.

Until the late 1990s, at what local time did the Monaco Grand Prix traditionally start?

That was an hour and a half later than other European rounds; practice was also held on Thursday so the streets could reopen on Friday.

How many cars were allowed to start the 1975 Monaco Grand Prix, compared with 23 to 26 elsewhere?

Bernie Ecclestone had forced the club to accept 26 in 1972, but it got the number back down two years later.

The Automobile Club de Monaco was founded in 1890 as a club for what?

The Sport Vélocipédique Monégasque admitted motorists in 1907 and took its current name in 1925; it also runs the Monte Carlo Rally.

The oldest driver ever to start a World Championship race did so at Monaco in 1955. How old was he?

He finished sixth; three years later he entered again at 58 but did not start.

Which two other races join Monaco in the Triple Crown of Motorsport?

Monaco's practice sessions overlap with Indy's, which is why so few drivers have attempted both.

Which Monaco winner retired to his yacht in the harbour after his car failed in second place in 2006?

Drivers who retire early can usually walk home in minutes; Senna did so in 1988.

Which of the following was NOT one of the four native Monégasque F1 drivers?

Alesi is French of Sicilian descent; Charles Leclerc is the fourth of the natives.