31 replies to this topic

[SophieB]

Please forgive the slightly truncated thread, I’m doing the best I can on an iPad or I would have gathered more of the striking, surprising or funny Monaco incidents we’ve been cataloguing down the years. For as much as it is a race of er, limited overtaking opportunities, some very weird stuff happens here. For now, this is last year’s version of Monaco’s greatest hits:
 
Monaco's greatest hits

• Ascari crashing into the harbour. As a kid I was always vaguely concerned this might one day somehow happen. Didn't know then it wasn't just a theoretical possibility.
• 1982 and the race finish described by James Hunt thus: "Well, we've got this ridiculous situation where we're all sitting by the start-finish line waiting for a winner to come past, and we don't seem to be getting one!" Patrese blinked first and took the race win that seemingly no-one wanted. As a reminder, this was super boring for 98% of the running time…

• The 1992 duel between Senna and Mansell.

• Keke Rosberg winning in 1983 with horrifyingly blistered hands.
• Ayrton Senna and Stefan Bellof having storming  debuts in 1984 in the wet.
• Ayrton Senna and his mystical experiences during the 1988 qualifying and more prosaic ones during the race the next day, crashing from the lead.
• Ayrton flying here in 1990.
• Only three (three!) cars finishing the race in 1996. 
• Michael Schumacher being found guilty deliberately crashing in his qualifying to bring out yellow flags and therefore stopping Alonso beating his time.
• ​Fernando Alonso threatening to lie down before the cars at the race start like Arthur Dent protesting a bypass if the above wasn't punished. 
• Nico Rosberg later being found not guilty of doing the same thing to Lewis Hamilton in 2014.
• Kimi breaking the heart of Adrian Sutil by crashing him out of a podium place in 2008.
• More positively from Michael, this was the scene of his last pole position winning time in 2012 even if a grid penalty meant he didn't get to keep it. Also this from 1996. A thing of wonder from one of the true greats.
• Hamilton crashing in 2008 and somehow winning
• Hamilton crashing about three times in 2011 and blowing up the world in his answer about why the stewards kept penalising him.
• Perez winning after crashing at the end of qualifying. (Kind of a recurring theme, huh) Also kind of a long fuse on that one for the Red Bull internal team dynamic.
• Button crashing Pascal Wehrlein out on his temporary return and earning a third place grid penalty…which he is yet to serve

What about this year, though?
 
Mandatory two pit stops this year in another attempt to shake up strategies.
 
Tyre gubbins, care of Pirelli

Yes, they’re bringing that new weird soft tyre back again.
 


Weather
 

 
When is it on?

Boringly, as a reminder, FP is on Friday now, like everywhere else
 

[Otaku]

"Mandatory two pit stops this year in another attempt to shake up strategies."

 

 

Is that true? /facepalm

[jonpollak]

Pat's having a smoke.

 

Jp

[RainyAfterlifeDaylight]

FP1 and FP2 belong to Monaco Thursdays!

 

[Beri]

The Grand Prix of the year where no one will convince me that it is a procession. To me Monaco is more. It's the epiphany of glamour, of style, of true driver skill during qualifying, to a picturesque setting, history and everything Formula One embodies. Opposed to wannabe events like Vegas and Miami.
I am genuinely always looking forward to this Grand Prix. And not even all the salt in the world, usually being used by many discussing the Monaco Grand Prix, can change my opinion on this.

[SophieB]

FP1 and FP2 belong to Monaco Thursdays!

 

Interestingly, F2 and F3 are defiantly keeping it real and holding FP on Thursday.

https://www.autospor...te-carlo/27914/

[SophieB]

"Mandatory two pit stops this year in another attempt to shake up strategies."

 

 

Is that true? /facepalm

Yes!
https://www.autospor...eyond/10724521/

[aportinga]

Best qualifying of the year followed by a parade. This race was meant for golf fans 100%.

[Yoshi]

Sadly its true with the two stops:

[zeph]

The Grand Prix of the year where no one will convince me that it is a procession. To me Monaco is more. It's the epiphany of glamour, of style, of true driver skill during qualifying, to a picturesque setting, history and everything Formula One embodies. Opposed to wannabe events like Vegas and Miami.
I am genuinely always looking forward to this Grand Prix. And not even all the salt in the world, usually being used by many discussing the Monaco Grand Prix, can change my opinion on this.

 

 

Yes, people complaining about lack of overtaking are really myopic and seem oblivious to the skill and talent needed to navigate a vehicle around those narrow streets at those speeds. It is breathtaking to see these guys fly around there lap after lap.

 

To me Monaco is one of the ultimate tests of driver ability, long may it continue.

Edited by zeph, Yesterday, 17:44.

[nivoglibina]

I'd say give the 2 mandatory stops a chance, the race can't get worse from what it normally is.

 

Still a fan of this race, however processional it is.

It became a lot duller when in the 2010's they figured out that the front runner should drive as slow as possible to bunch up the field so that nobody has a gap to pitstop into. When this started the races became awful because there is no longer skill involved, just drive well within your limits.

Edited by nivoglibina, Yesterday, 17:51.

[Anja]

I wonder if the two stop mandate will cause some drivers to pit on lap 1 for free air. 

[nivoglibina]

I wonder if the two stop mandate will cause some drivers to pit on lap 1 for free air. 

Yeah if your not in the top 10 this seems likely.

[TomNokoe]

Feels like quite an open weekend, no? Maybe a surprise poleman?

[Goron3]

I wonder if the two stop mandate will cause some drivers to pit on lap 1 for free air.

This happens every year anyway. In 2023 there were three lap 1 stoppers, for examples.

[Risil]

I'd say give the 2 mandatory stops a chance, the race can't get worse from what it normally is.

That's the spirit!

[Risil]

1981: fire in the hotel above the tunnel resulting in water dripping onto the track below, resulting in the bizarro situation where it was dry on the track and wet in the tunnel.

[Risil]

1997: Heinz-Harald Frentzen follows up his first career victory at Imola by qualifying his Williams on pole. However he starts on the wrong tyres and Michael Schumacher wins by a minute. Frentzen's career never recovers.

[LolaB0860]

Interestingly, F2 and F3 are defiantly keeping it real and holding FP on Thursday.

https://www.autospor...te-carlo/27914/

 

Yeah, but it's semi pointless as there's nothing more than qualifying for them on Friday, days of Monaco F2 Friday race are gone

[Kulturen]

Yes, people complaining about lack of overtaking are really myopic and seem oblivious to the skill and talent needed to navigate a vehicle around those narrow streets at those speeds. It is breathtaking to see these guys fly around there lap after lap.

 

To me Monaco is one of the ultimate tests of driver ability, long may it continue.

 

It really is a litmus test to tell whether someone has more than a casual and shallow understanding of racing.

[pdac]

Yes!
https://www.autospor...eyond/10724521/

 

It would be so much better if they want mandatory pit stops if they made it something like 5 stops mandatory. You'd have a much better chance of strategy mistakes then.

[Risil]

1985: Michele Alboreto genuinely passes a bunch of people on his way to second. This probably wasn't hugely remarkable at the time but now seems like a distant memory of a golden age when men were 8 feet tall and could talk to animals.

[Anderis]

Yes, people complaining about lack of overtaking are really myopic and seem oblivious to the skill and talent needed to navigate a vehicle around those narrow streets at those speeds. It is breathtaking to see these guys fly around there lap after lap.

 

To me Monaco is one of the ultimate tests of driver ability, long may it continue.

I think I have to disagree. I have the impression that this "ultimate test of driver ability" may have held some substance in the past but not so much anymore in modern F1.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the last time we had a driver crash out of the race in Monaco on his own without rain/damp track or other cars being involved was in 2017. I don't think there's much evidence to support a claim that finishing a race in Monaco competitively is any more of a challenge than doing it on other tracks nowadays. Lack of overtaking opportunities means less incentive to drive on the limit. You may drive faster but you won't overtake the car in front anyway, so why bother. The car behind you is not going to overtake you anyway so why bother looking for that last tenth. Outside of the pit stop window there's really no reason to go all in during the race (and since in recent years Monaco has been an easy 1 stopper or even a potential 0 stopper in case of a red flag, that's not a lot of laps) and I wonder if that's why we barely see any race ending mistakes in Monaco these days? Anyway, doesn't seem much of an ultimate test if everyone passes it year by year. Qualifying is still a big thing around Monaco but races not so much in my own perception.

Edited by Anderis, Yesterday, 19:26.

[lewislorenzo]

Feels like quite an open weekend, no? Maybe a surprise poleman?

Alonso

[sportyskells]

Bearman will need to make sure he gets his lap in to avoid a repeat of last week on Saturday

[OvDrone]

I still care about and like the Monaco GP.

[ANF]

70 years ago

 

[GlenWatkins]

This race is on my bucket list.

[FirstnameLastname]

The Jaguar Diamond…. Still laying in a drain somewhere waiting to be found

(Or more likely, was never real in the first place)

[jonklug]

Enough is enough, when will Jenson serve his penalty? 

[KWSN - DSM]

The Monaco Grand Prix is more than just a Formula 1 race. Despite the sport's evolution, the narrow, winding streets of Monte Carlo remain challenging. Yes, overtakes are rare, and the circuit is tight. Nowhere else does precision matter more. Every corner is a test of skill.

 

The harbor's glamour, the engines' roar between stone walls, and the historical backdrop create a spectacle that no modern circuit can replicate. Monaco is not just a race—it is Formula 1's crown jewel and belongs on the calendar forever.

[Hellenic tifosi]

Monaco is the one race where when even free practice can be spectacular to watch. The slow build up of confidence and speed, culminating in what is by far the most exciting qualifying of the season, definitely compensates for what sometimes can be a processional race.