The most important, must watch Grand Prix of the year is almost here – the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix – and it is hard not to be excited about the biggest race of they year.
Sure, they usually turn out to be dull, no overtaking, with unjustified hype, but even without action it is still amazing to watch the cars go around the famous circuit.
So instead of a full 2018 Monaco Grand Prix preview, here is a top 5 of just about everything that one could think of.
Here then is the Top 5 of almost everything for this race and the more interesting of Monaco Grand Prix history.
TOP 5 POINTS OF INTEREST for the 2018 MONACO GRAND PRIX
- Are Mercedes really going to be struggling on the streets of Monaco.
- Is this finally a chance for Red Bulls to get a pole position and grab easy win.
- Will the race continue the trend of one very angry person on the podium.
- Which celebrities will be at Lewis Hamilton’s side if he makes the podium.
- Will Monaco finally give Fernando Alonso an opportunity to show his talents right at the front.
HOW WILL THE TOP 5 GO for the 2018 MONACO GRAND PRIX
LEWIS HAMILTON
SEBASTIAN VETTEL
DANIEL RICCIARDO
MAX VERSTAPPEN
VALTTERI BOTTAS / KIMI RAKKONEN
Mercedes seem genuinely worried about not being the fastest car at Monaco, but they do have Lewis Hamilton, an expert around these streets. Ferrari look as strong as ever, and Vettel has won twice in Monaco – including last season – but his record on street tracks since then isn’t great. Think back to Singapore 2017 and Azerbaijan 2018. The Red Bulls should be super strong, and it will be one of the tracks where they will be genuine front runners and competing for pole. Ricciardo deserves a win after being robbed a few seasons back, and races unlike anyone else. Max Verstappen will be fast and competitive here too, but a question still remains over temperament. The Mercedes number twos will need luck to pip their more illustrious team mates, and they don’t usually have too much based on 2018 so far.
TOP 5 PREDICTION for the 2018 MONACO GRAND PRIX
Here’s the predicted order for the Top 5 for this weekend’s race.
DANIEL RICCIARDO
LEWIS HAMILTON
FERNANDO ALONSO
SERGIO PEREZ
CARLOS SAINZ
Time for a bold prediction for a race that involves high profile accidents, a glorious return to winning ways for our Australian F1 Hero, and a few smokies to grab their chance at the spotlight in a place where a car’s lack of performance is not as pronounced.
TOP 5 RETIREMENT PREDICTION for the 2018 MONACO GRAND PRIX
SEBASTIAN VETTEL
MAX VERSTAPPEN
ESTEBAN OCON
LANCE STROLL
BRENDON HARTLEY
A bold prediction to tip two of the front runners to be among the first retirements, but it happened in 2017 and Monaco is tight, and Vettel and Max have previous form. The other tips almost select themselves – Force India drivers have crashed into each other a few times in the past, and not much is going right for Williams at the moment. It has been suggested that Hartley is in need of a good result soon to keep his drive, and Monaco can hurt.
OTHER TOP 5’s
Enough for this year’s race, how about a bunch of Monaco Grand Prix Top 5’s.
TOP 5 MONACO GRAND PRIX QUIRKS
- The first practice day is on a Thursday which allows for sponsor schmoozing on Friday.
- It is the only track which has to navigate around a swimming and has a tunnel
- Only Senna and Prost won the race for a decade from 1984 to 1993. And there have been just 33 winners in 61 races.
- Back when there used to be 26 or more cars entering a race, the grid was limited to 20.
- Monaco are rumoured to be bringing back Grid Girls against the wishes of the new owners of F1.
TOP 5 BEST MONACO GRANDS PRIX
Here’s the thoughts on the best Monaco Grands Prix, and all are well worth a look on Youtube if you can find them.
1982 Monaco Grand Prix
All the action happened late when the rain came and long time leader Prost crashed with three laps to go, and those last minutes are F1 historical gold if you can find them anywhere. Losers at F1 took down the videos.
In the closing stages a plethora of cars got to the lead, or would have led had they not run out of fuel or crashed. Patrese took the lead from Prost but spun half a lap later, Pironi led very slowly and ran out of fuel with half a lap to go, Andrea de Cesaris ran out of fuel a few hundred metres further back, Derek Daly smashed his car just as he was about to start his last lap and could have taken the lead. Patrese then bump started down the hill and eventually got going enough to eventually win the race.
James Hunt summed it up best in the commentary “We have the ridiculous situation where we are all waiting by the finish line to get a winner and we don’t seem to be getting one.”
1984 Monaco Grand Prix
The race that made a legend of Ayrton Senna. On a very wet day, from the midfield, in a car that was nowhere near the dominant McLaren Porsche of Alain Prost, Senna powered through the conditions and the from half of the grid. He was just about on Prost’s tail when the race was called off, and half points awarded.
Also famous for Tyrrell driver Stefan Bellof’s charge from the very back. He was catching both Senna and Prost when the red flag came out. And not to forget Nigel “White Lines” Mansell, who famously claimed they were to blame for crashing out in the lead.
1996 Monaco Grand Prix
Another wet race to begin with, and it looked like business as usual with William driver Damon Hill well out in front, like he had for a lot of the 96 season thus far. Although there was a huge surprise when rain master Michael Schumacher crashed out halfway around the first lap.
But behind the leaders there was a fair bit going on. Eddie Irvine was holding off a group of drivers, eventually annoying Heinz Harald Frentzen enough that he made an ill judged lunge that didn’t work. This group was also getting picked off one by one by Olivier Panis in his Ligier, who passed a remarkable (for Monaco) four cars by the end of the race.
A well timed pitstop for dry tyres, dealing with Irvine by punting him out of the race, and a Williams and Benetton failure ahead gave the Frenchman a highly unlikely win at 200-1. He was one of just three cars left at the end of the race.
1997 Monaco Grand Prix
Michael Schumacher masterclass. Was 6 seconds up after one lap. Also famous for the Stewart team’s first points with Barrichello’s second place.
2010 Monaco Grand Prix
It looked likely that Webber would never win any Grand Prix let alone a Monaco. So it was enjoyed, even with the worrying of a slice of Webber luck.
TOP 5 BEST MONACO GRAND PRIX ONE WIN WONDERS
Some great drivers never get to win a Monaco Grand Prix, Nigel Mansell comes to mind, but some are lucky enough that their only one came in the Principality. There are only three so we included those who only won one other race.
2004 – Jarno Trulli – Renault
1996 – Olivier Panis – Ligier
1972 – Jean-Pierre Beltoise – BRM
1978 – Patrick Depaillier – Tyrrell
1954 / 1958 – Maurice Trintignant – Ferrari / Cooper – his only two came at Monaco
TOP 5 BEST NON MONACO GRAND PRIX WINNERS
Hard to believe these drivers never won at Monaco.
- NIGEL MANSELL
- NELSON PIQUET
- JIM CLARK
- JEAN ALESI
- PIERLUIGI MARTINI
TOP 5 BEST MONACO GRAND PRIX DRIVES
1983 – KEKE ROSBERG
Started on wet track with dry tyres and was mega. Suckered many drivers and teams into it since. But not of those drivers were the great Keke Rosberg.
1984 – AYRTON SENNA / STEFAN BELLOF
See the race report above.
1986 – ALAIN PROST
Lost in all the Senna-Prost bravado it is forgotten that Alain Prost was a very good driver, and excellent around Monaco. His 1986 drive was as complete as one could get.
1990 – JEAN ALESI
Hauled an unfancied Tyrrell up to second just 1 second behind Senna at the end.
2014 – JULES BIANCHI
Finished 9th in his Marussia, a car that looked unlikely for points anywhere. Unfortunately never got his chance with a bigger team to do more.
TOP 5 WORST MONACO GRAND PRIX TACTICAL DECISIONS
1984 – STEWARDS RED FLAG RACE
Although it was a classic race anyway, what could have happened if the red flag didn’t come out when it did. Half race meant half points for Prost who lost the Championship by half a point that season. Legend also has it that despite Senna’s speed, his car may have not lasted much longer.
1996 – MAX VERSTAPPEN / ARROWS
Sent out on slicks on a soaked track that saw even Rainmaster Michael Schumacher spin off half a lap later.
1997 – WILLIAMS
Sent both drivers out on slicks on a wet track trying to emulate their 1983 win with Rosberg. Waited until their races were well and truly over before changing.
2015 – MERCEDES / LEWIS HAMILTON
Pit stop call cost the Briton a win in Monaco.
2016 – RED BULL
Calling Ricciardo in from the lead against his wishes and not providing tyres.
TOP 5 BEST MONACO GRAND PRIX INCIDENTS
2006 – SCHUMACHER PARKS THE FERRARI AT RASCASSE
Michael Schumacher did a few ordinary things over the year, and this incident was one of the worst. Having already taken Pole the German lost control of his car at 16 km/h to block the track and stop anyone else from setting a faster time. Hard to figure a multiple world champion would lose control at a speed less than a mobility scooter can go. Stewards thought so and piunished him.
2014 – NICO ROSBERG RUNS STRAIGHT ON
Learned from his compatriot by appearing to run straight on at Mirabeau, bringing out the yellow flags and spoiling Hamilton’s final lap.
1986 – TAMBAY ALMOST FLIPS OVER THE WALL AT MIRABEAU
Drivers can get frustrated being stuck behind a car for too long, it can sometimes last for an entire race.
This happened in 1and the result was a 1986 crash between Martin Brundle and Patrick Tambay. Tambay flipped over Brundle’s Tyrrell and then landed on top of the small barriers and bounced back. If it didn’t a good 5 m drop to the road below awaited.
1981 – FIRE IN THE KITCHEN
In 1981 the race was delayed by an hour after a fire in the hotel kitchen that sits above the tunnel. The Fire was put out by plenty of water, which then seeped through into the tunnel and made that wet.
1980 – FIRST CORNER AEROBATICS
You would expect the odd first corner shunt at the Monaco Grand Prix, and the 1980 version is one of the best.
