Of all the Formula One championship races the Monaco Grand Prix is the most glamorous and spectacular and it is often referred to as the jewel in the crown of motor sport. It is also the favourite race of many of the drivers, though not all of them share that view;Raikkonenfamously said that he was often bored by the circuit as he tended to get trapped behind slow cars with no way of getting past them.
The first Monaco Grand Prix was held in 1929 and was organised by the Automobile Club de Monaco and it was just for invited drivers. The race was won by the British racing driver W Williams driving a Bugatti, though it was not until 1933 before the Monaco Grand Prix achieved the same status as the Grand Prix held in Spain, Italy, France and Belgium. By 1936 the event was included in the new European Championship of Motor Racing, though due to financial considerations and the Second World Warthe 1938 race was cancelled and racing at Monaco did not resume until 1945.
Formula One was defined as a by the FIA in 1946 and two years later the first actual Formula One cars lined up at the Monaco grid. It was won by Nino Farina driving a Maserati. The first World Drivers’ Championship was launched in 1950 and it was the first Grand Prix win for Juan Manuel Fangio who would go on the win the championship a total of five times.
The race was dominated by British drivers during the late 1950s and 1960s when Stirling Moss won it on three occasions and Graham on five. Jackie Stewart also won the race three times during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
A similar domination occurred from 1984 until 1993 when the only winners were Alain Prost and AyrtonSenna. Senna won the race on six occasions and to date is the only person to have done so though Michael Schumacher is currently close with five wins, though some of them were fairly controversial.
In many ways Monaco is quite unsuitable for modern Formula One cars. It is very difficult to overtake on this street circuit even with all the latest gizmos of KERS and DRS and often the races are quite processional; the famous hairpin turn often looks like a traffic jam during rush hour. In most other Formula One races downforce is a crucial element of the cars’ performance and huge amounts of effort and money is invested in perfecting the aerodynamic characteristics of the cars, but at Monaco downforce is not particularly important. Despite this there is something magical about this race; though maybe it is more about the glitz and the glamour than the sport itself.
