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MONACO — The Monaco Grand Prix has long been regarded as the jewel in Formula One’s crown, a symbol of everything the sport stands for, making it so much more than another stop on the calendar.
But in an era where Liberty Media, F1’s owner since 2017, has been pushing to take the sport to more of the world’s biggest cities such as Miami and Las Vegas, there are now plenty of races that offer the things that once made Monaco unique.
It’s no longer noteworthy for being a street circuit, given the proliferation of those layouts onto the calendar. It lacks the high speed challenges of Jeddah or Baku, as well as the space, particularly with this generation of cars, to be good for racing. For the incredible skyline views, try Singapore and Las Vegas. Want yachts? Abu Dhabi and, even somewhat tongue-in-cheek, Miami can offer them.
Nor does Monaco once hold the commercial significance it once did to teams. Thanks to F1’s U.S. growth, Miami and Las Vegas are now busier races for off-track events and sponsors, as well as appealing to VIP guests looking for a place to be seen.
(Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Yet Monaco retains a special place in the paddock’s psyche that sets it apart from all of the ‘new glamour’ events that have joined the calendar in recent years.
“I’m sorry for the other ones, but no one I think beats Monaco,” said Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. “And no one ever will.”
It carries a weight that exceeds anything else.
One thing all these races lack compared to Monaco is the history. The race dates back to 1929, 21 years before the formation of the F1 world championship, and has been on every F1 calendar with the exception of 2020, when it was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The place itself carries its own allure. “Monaco will always stand out on its own, and it most likely will always stand above those other spectacle ones,” said Lewis Hamilton. “It will always be up there with the Silverstones, the Monzas. Those are really the crown jewel (events) of our sport, right?”
Hamilton first visited Monaco when he was 13 years old, and immediately became enamored with the place. “That really opened my eyes,” he said. “That became a dream, like, ‘OK, this is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been, this is where I want to live.’”
Hamilton raced in Monaco for the first time six years later, in Formula Three, knowing the importance of impressing the watching F1 teams. He’d go on to not only race in F1 and win in Monaco, but also realize that dream of living in the principality (along with drivers including Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and George Russell).
“If you haven’t won in Monaco, there’s something wrong with your career,” said three-time world champion Jackie Stewart. (Victor Blackman/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
“It’s a really special place,” Hamilton said. “It’s really the pearl of our sport.”
The challenge for the drivers has evolved through the years. The cars are now so big and heavy that overtaking is almost impossible due to the lack of space around the circuit, turning the race into a procession.
But qualifying day in Monaco remains one of the highlights of the season, pitting drivers against the circuit as well as each other. The thrill the drivers feel as they dance between the barriers, daring to push that little bit more, getting a millimeter or two closer to the wall with each lap they complete. No other street track comes close.
“The feeling of driving around here and having that opportunity to push a car to the limit is just … it’s so awesomely scary and beautiful and insane and intense,” said Daniel Ricciardo, who won the race from pole in 2018. “It’s one of life’s greatest experiences. It’s hard to match a feeling like that.”
While Monaco lacks the speeds of the more modern street circuits, the thrill the drivers feel when they nail a lap is unlike anything else. “When you get a proper lap in qualifying, you get the shakes, which is nice,” said Valtteri Bottas. “It’s a good feeling, just the adrenaline. It’s hard to find that elsewhere.”
There’s also the prestige that comes with winning in Monaco. Verstappen doesn’t obsess over F1 records, nor does he particularly enjoy street circuits. But he still revels in its challenge.
“In qualifying here, the attention to detail, it’s crazy, and that definitely makes it very special,” said Verstappen, who won the race for the first time in 2021, and admitted to feeling pressure to impress given the status of the race.
“In qualifying here, the attention to detail, it’s crazy, and that definitely makes it very special,” said Max Verstappen, who won the Monaco GP for the first time in 2021. (JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)
“I do think that up until the point I didn’t win here, the pressure of wanting to win in Monaco was always very high,” Verstappen said. “You really wanted to show off. But I feel like that’s a bit different now. You’re probably a bit more relaxed.”
A look through the roll of winners in Monaco is a who’s who of motorsport greats. As Jackie Stewart, a three-time world champion and three-time Monaco winner, put it on F1 TV: “If you haven’t won in Monaco, there’s something wrong with your career.”
As enjoyable as qualifying may be, and as remarkable a feat as simply holding a race in such a tiny principality is for F1, a grand prix will always be ultimately judged by the quality of its race.
Sainz admitted that race day in Monaco could be “a bit boring sometimes” and that he wanted to see F1 push to find ways to create better overtaking opportunities by looking at potential changes to the layout. It’s something the sport’s leaders have long explored, but never been able to realize.
“It would leave us all still waiting for Sunday, rather than knowing nothing happens on Sunday,” Sainz said. “Monaco is the best and will always be the best in that sense, in the glamour side of things, I wouldn’t underestimate changes that these kinds of circuits can do for the future.”
It’s a sentiment Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, has shared for some time. “We ought to look at even the possibility of could we open up some areas that potentially create at least an overtaking opportunity, what would it envelop to achieve that,” he said. “I think that’s something Formula One I know is acutely aware of, and I’m sure Monaco as well. But to protect the next 70 years here, I think there needs to obviously be a sign of evolution.”
Hamilton pondered whether F1 might consider making tweaks to the weekend format purely for Monaco. “You’ve got the sprint things that they’ve added, but for this particular weekend, I think they should come up with some new formula for it rather than it just be the same,” Hamilton said.
“That’s just my opinion. Do you guys not fall asleep on Sunday watching the race?” He smiled at the nods returned by the media. “Yeah. So, creating something else somehow? I don’t know how you do it.”
But no matter what form Monaco’s future may take, with all the history and legacy it boasts, and so long as it remains such a unique driver challenge, it’ll always be a beloved part of the F1 calendar.
(Lead image of Monaco: ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images)
