With the Monaco Grand Prix just a few days away and excitement already building here at Karting Nation HQ, we thought we’d take at look at some incredible facts about the world’s most famous street circuit – and over the years this incredible race has seen it all!
1) Turning Monaco’s public roads into the world’s most famous street circuit takes an incredible amount of preparation and an unbelievable amount of equipment. As well as installing approximately 33 kilometres of safety railing, 20,000 square meters of fencing and 1,100 tonnes of grandstand seating, race organisers also use over three-and-a-half thousand tyres to create barriers.
2) On average a driver changes gear 62 times per lap at Monaco, meaning that by the time they cross the finish line they will have changed gear nearly 5,000 times! The only time drivers can really get their foot down is through the famous tunnel, but even then they’ll only be at full throttle for roughly seven-and-a-half seconds.
3) Monaco’s reputation as the world’s most challenging circuit is well deserved, and any mistakes at the wheel are usually punished. Collisions and crashes are commonplace and it’s extremely rare for a full fleet of F1 cars to make it to the chequered flag. With that in mind, it’s hardly surprising that Monaco holds the record for the least number of cars to finish a race, and in both 1966 and 1996 just four cars made it to the chequered flag.
4) Sticking with the 1996 race, one of the four drivers to finish the racewas David Coulthard, who crossed the line wearing Michael Schumacher’s helmet. Despite being title rivals Schumacher lent Coulthard one of his spare helmets as the Scottish driver had been having visibility problems with his own, but that’s not the last time Coulthard’s attire caught the eye..
5) In 2006 Coulthard claimed Red Bull’s first ever podium finish by finishing third in Monaco, but it was his celebration that really stole the show. To mark his incredible achievement Coulthard raided the fancy dress box and took to the podium in a superman cape, which even the Prince of Monaco managed to see the funny side of!
6) Monaco is famous for being the playground of the rich and famous, and when the F1’s in town everybody wants a piece of the action. Hotels in the area are usually fully booked years in advance, but if you’re lucky you can still secure a bed for the night and a ticket for the big race. The only downside is the price, and for the four days over race weekend you can expect to pay around £15,000.
7) Ayrton Senna holds the record for the most wins at Monaco with six victories, but not everybody’s been quite so lucky. Over the course of his career British racer Nigel Mansell led 104 laps at Monaco without ever winning,
8) Monaco is not only the shortest circuit on the F1 race calendar at just 3.34km, it also boasts the slowest corner too. The notorious turn 6 is one of the tightest hairpins in racing and to make it round drivers have to drop to around 30mph and apply maximum steering lock. They’ve also got to keep an eye out for other drivers too!