Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo: Preview and weekend times

From Barcelona to Monte Carlo in two days! Having dismantled the Formula 1 caravan from Catalonia, the workers are ready to reassemble it in the Principality of Monaco where all the circus staff will meet as early as Wednesday.

The Monaco Grand Prix is ​​among the most anticipated races of the year. It is something unique nowadays to see drivers driving cars designed to travel at over three hundred kilometers per hour along the narrow streets of the principality, constantly battling with fate and their own skills while avoiding touching the very nearby walls.

It is no coincidence that despite everything, in various surveys the Monaco Grand Prix is ​​still the one preferred by the public and drivers. Winning in Monte Carlo is an extraordinary emotion, a unique gem in each driver's personal collection with victories in Spa and Monza.

The route winds through the main streets of the Monte Carlo district, one of the four districts that make up the principality. From its introduction to today the layout has undergone very few changes. After a short stretch from the start you arrive at the first curve called Santa Devota, dedicated to the patron saint of Monaco of the same name and to the small church that stands right behind the protective barriers. Once past Santa Devota you face a straight uphill section, the Beau Rivage which enters a fast left bend, the Massenet.

High very short stretch towards the Casino curve and then tackle the sections of the Mirabeau Haute, the hairpin of the old station, the slowest point of the entire world championship, and the Mirabeau Bas. You then go towards the Portier curve and then enter under the tunnel, the fastest section of the track, up to the port cichane. Another short stretch up to the Tabac curve to the left, then you tackle the double Piscine chicane to end with the Rascasse and Antony Noghes curves.

The Monaco Grand Prix and the Monte Carlo circuit boast many firsts. Free practice takes place on Thursday; this is the race that, in linear conditions, lasts the longest, approximately an hour and three quarters although it is raced over a distance of 260 km and not the usual 305; it takes place on the shortest circuit in the world championship, with the lowest average hourly rate and with the greatest number of gear changes.

The Formula 1 circus arrives in Monte Carlo after another victory for Sebastian Vettel, absolute master of this first part of the championship. The Spanish Grand Prix therefore consolidated the German driver's leadership to the detriment of Lewis Hamilton who fought until the end in an attempt to overtake the Red Bull driver.

Ferrari's absolutely astonishing (in a negative sense) performance should be highlighted. The Maranello company started from fourth position with Alonso, eager to give his best in front of his fans. At the traffic lights the Spaniard with a lightning-fast sprint even managed to turn first at the first corner, keeping Vettel, Webber and Hamilton behind for about twenty laps. As soon as the hard tires were mounted, the collapse! Literally. In about forty laps the Ferrari was separated by about a minute and a half and ended up lapped!

A clear sign of an absolute lack of aerodynamic load which affects performance, especially on hard tyres, Ferrari still has a long way to go to get back on top. But the feeling is that the first part of the race in Catalonia was more the result of Alonso's determination than of the car itself. Just look at Massa's performance, absolutely anonymous for the entire weekend; and in the paddock there are increasingly insistent, but never confirmed, rumors of an exit at the end of the year.

The Spanish race was also highly anticipated from an entertainment point of view. With the introduction of DRS and the use of KERS, a clear increase in overtaking was expected compared to previous editions, also in light of what was seen in previous races. However, expectations were not met, and the DRS did not prove to be at all incisive, a sign that perhaps before so many devices the FIA ​​should put the tracks under a magnifying glass.

A bit of history.

Monaco is the "roulette race" par excellence and, although overtaking remains a challenge in its streets, that label has often been respected to the letter, just think of heart-pounding editions like 1982, when the leadership changed hands five times in the last 4 laps, finally rewarding Patrese, or in 1996, the year in which the French Panis surprisingly won, in a wet race that saw only 4 cars at the finish line, or again in the sensational victory, at the very last Rindt corner in '70 , when Jack Brabham, now certain winner, made a mistake braking a few meters from the finish line.

Monaco is one of those Grands Prix that already existed and were considered "classic" when the World Championship was conceived, in fact it saw the light from an idea by Anthony Noghes in 1929, when on a blue Bugatti (a brand that would dominate three of the first four editions) the Englishman William Grover won under the pseudonym of “Williams”, His Majesty's secret agent killed by the Nazis in the Second World War. We said about Patrese: the Principality will see several Italian winners, but mostly concentrated in the first editions. However, they are names that make the legend of Sport: Nuvolari, Varzi and Fagioli in the 30s were the valid Italian counterpart to French and German drivers and cars. But after Farina's success in '48, we had to wait until '82 and then, the last to date, Trulli's victory in 2004.

The first multiple-winning driver in Monaco was Fangio, later equaled by Trintignant and surpassed by Moss (three victories, of which the '60 victory was the first in Lotus history). But the sixties were dominated by the first true "king" of Monaco, Graham Hill, who triumphed 5 times between '63 and '69 with BRM and Lotus, remaining undefeated for a quarter of a century, until the arrival of Ayrton Senna who, after revealing himself under the downpour of Monaco '84, would win 6 times, 5 of which with McLaren, the last in '93, his last appearance in the Principality. Schumacher has achieved 5 victories, and this year, Mercedes permitting, he could again try to catch Ayrton, still unsurpassed today. Among the most victorious, we must not forget Prost's poker and Stewart's hat-trick, two drivers whose clean driving was highlighted between the guardrails.

The narrow streets of Monte Carlo have predictably been the frequent scene of accidents and tangles between cars: the famous multiple "collision" in the rain, mixed with oil, at the port chicane in '36 which eliminated 4 cars and which then saw the triumph of “rain magician” Caracciola, who in Monaco in '33 was the victim of an accident that left him with a leg 5 centimeters shorter, and then the tangle of 1950, when Fangio managed to dodge the pile of crashed cars at Tabaccaio corner on the first lap and to fly undisturbed and, he would later say, bored, to do the remaining 99 laps until victory, but also the spectacular flight of Daly's Tyrrell at the start of the 1980 edition, all of which fortunately ended without any damage to the pilots .

In fact, the only victim on the track was Lorenzo Bandini, who died following burns from the terrible fire of his Ferrari at the chicane in '67, an accident which made the problem of safety in Grand Prix explode in all its severity. But Luigi Fagioli, who died a few weeks after his accident in the 1952 edition (the only one for sports cars), should also be included in the sad account. In these days of May, a thought goes to the 1981 edition, won by the late Gilles Villeneuve with a Ferrari Turbo that was still immature and unsuitable for those narrow streets: it was the first victory of a supercharged Ferrari engine.

Among the current drivers of the Circus, in addition to the "seasoned" Schumacher whose 5 victories have already been mentioned, there are other good interpreters of the circuit: Alonso, author of a double, and then Hamilton, the youngest winner ever (a record that stood since Guy Moll's triumph in '34) on McLaren in a very difficult and daring wet edition in 2008, the year that later consecrated him world champion, just as happened to his current teammate Button in 2009. The record holder among the teams is McLaren with 15 victories. The Australian Mark Webber won last year on Red Bull.

The Monaco Grand Prix sees the debut of Pirelli's supersoft compounds. The Italian tire manufacturer has decided, for this race, to bring two adjacent compounds, the supersoft and the soft. Furthermore, in view of this race there was an ongoing controversy regarding the DRS. Drivers have been asking the FIA ​​for weeks to ban the use of the device for this race for safety reasons. The sports authority, however, responded negatively, but made it known that the DRS Zone will most likely be located on the finishing straight and not under the tunnel, where, it seems, the FIA ​​intends to ban it completely even during free practice and qualifications.

Still on DRS, news has arrived in recent days that the Federation will allow, starting from the Canadian Grand Prix on 12 June, the use of DRS in the race at two points on the track instead of one. The same will apply to the European Grand Prix on the Valencia street circuit.

Another very hot front is the one regarding the so-called blown diffusers. In practice, it is a system that, even when the driver does not keep his foot on the gas pedal, leaves the engine throttle slightly open while continuing to emit exhaust gases. This hot air, then coming out of the rear exhausts, creates an aerodynamic effect. The device is in use by almost all teams, except for low-ranking teams.

The FIA ​​has recognized that the system is indeed illegal, as it is a driver-activated aerodynamic device, but at the same time has allowed it to continue to be used at least until the Canadian Grand Prix. It's absurd. If a system is illegal then it must be abolished; but stating its illegality but continuing to allow its use is a contradiction that cannot be explained. One of the many absurd decisions that the FIA ​​has made in recent years. In any case, the low-end teams have raised their voices, and it seems that they intend to present an official protest during the Monegasque weekend.

During the Catalan weekend there was also talk of the possible reintroduction into the world championship calendar of the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was supposed to open the season, only to be canceled due to political unrest in the emirate. There has been talk of a possible holding on October 30th instead of the Indian Grand Prix which would thus be postponed to December 4th! No one has officially expressed his opinion on the matter, only Ross Brawn has said he is strongly against ending the season so late.

We then arrive in Monte Carlo with all eyes on Red Bull and Vettel who is aiming for his sixth victory out of five Grands Prix. The only one who seems to be able to worry the German is Lewis Hamilton who however said that against a Red Bull like this, winning the title will be truly impossible. And given the great superiority of the Austrian team in qualifying and the difficulty of overtaking in Monte Carlo, a Red Bull victory seems absolutely certain.

Domenico Della Valle – Francesco Ferrandino

INFO
Circuit length: 3,340 km
Laps to go: 78
Total distance: 260,530km
Number of curves: 19 – 11 right · 8 left
Direction of travel: clockwise
Pirelli compounds: super soft/soft
Throttle opening: 42% of mileage

RECORD
Test lap: 1:13.532 – K Raikkonen – McLaren – 2006
Race lap: 1:14.439 – M Schumacher – Ferrari – 2004
Distance: 1h40:29.329 – F Alonso – McLaren – 2007
Driver victories: 6 – At Senna
Team victories: 15 – McLaren
Driver pole: 5 – To Senna
Pole team: 11 – McLaren
Km in the driver's lead: 1.459 – M Schumacher
Team lead km: 3.004 – McLaren
Best driver laps: 5 – M Schumacher
Best team laps: 16 – Ferrari
Driver podiums: 8 – In Senna
Team podiums: 46 – Ferrari
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Hall of Fame

01. 1950 J Fangio – Alfa Romeo
02. 1955 M Trintignan – Ferrari
03. 1956 S Moss – Maserati
04. 1957 J Fangio – Maserati
05. 1958 M Trintignan – Cooper Climax
06. 1959 J Brabham – Cooper Climax
07. 1960 S Moss – Lotus Climax
08. 1961 S Moss – Lotus Climax
09. 1962 B McLaren – Cooper Climax
10. 1963 G Hill – BRM
11. 1964 G Hill – BRM
12. 1965 G Hill – BRM
13. 1966 J Stewart – BRM
14. 1967 D Hulme – Brabham Repco
15. 1968 G Hill – Lotus Ford
16. 1969 G Hill – Lotus Ford
17. 1970 J Rindt – Lotus Ford
18. 1971 J Stewart – Tyrrell Ford
19. 1972 J Beltoise – BRM
20. 1973 J Stewart – Tyrrell Ford
21. 1974 R Peterson – Lotus Ford
22. 1975 N Lauda – Ferrari
23. 1976 N Lauda – Ferrari
24. 1977 J Scheckter – Wolf Ford
25. 1978 P Depailler – Tyrrell Ford
26. 1979 J Scheckter – Ferrari
27. 1980 C Reutermann – Williams Ford
28. 1981 G Villeneuve – Ferrari
29. 1982 R Patrese – Brabham Ford
30. 1983 K Rosberg – Williams Ford
31. ​​1984 A Prost – McLaren TAG
32. ​​1985 A Prost – McLaren TAG
33. ​​1986 A Prost – McLaren TAG
34. 1987 At Senna – Lotus Honda
35. 1988 At Prost – McLaren Honda
36. 1989 At Senna – McLaren Honda
37. 1990 At Senna – McLaren Honda
38. 1991 At Senna – McLaren Honda
39. 1992 At Senna – McLaren Honda
40. 1993 At Senna – McLaren Ford
41. 1994 M Schumacher – Benetton Ford
42. 1995 M Schumacher – Benetton Renault
43. 1996 O Panis – Ligier Mugen Honda
44. 1997 M Schumacher – Ferrari
45. ​​1998 M Hakkinen – McLaren Mercedes
46. 1999 M Schumacher – Ferrari
47. ​​2000 D Coulthard – McLaren Mercedes
48. 2001 M Schumacher – Ferrari
49. ​​2002 D Coulthard – McLaren Mercedes
50. 2003 J Montoya – Williams BMW
51. 2004 J Trulli – Renault
52. 2005 K Raikkonen – McLaren Mercedes
53. 2006 F Alonso – Renault
54. 2007 F Alonso – McLaren Mercedes
55. 2008 L Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes
56. 2009 J Button – Brawn GP Mercedes
57. 2010 M Webber – Red Bull Renault
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Monaco Grand Prix times

Thursday 26th May
10:00-11:30 Free Practice 1
14:00-15:30 Free Practice 2

Saturday May 28
11:00-12:00 Free Practice 3
14pm-00pm Qualifying – Live Rai Due

Sunday May 29
14pm Race – Live Rai Uno