Monaco. One of the most popular races on the Formula 1 calendar, if not the most popular. It's unique glamour, glitz and stunning backdrop make it the most talked about the highly anticipated race on the calendar.
The Circuit de Monaco is not one for the faint-hearted. You have to be 100% committed, you need full concentration and control to succeed around the twisty streets of the principality. That's why its often one of the most dramatic weekends of the season.
The barriers loom ever larger, the engines echo ever louder and the fans get even closer to the action. Overtaking is limited around the tight confines of the track, but it's not impossible and when someone does make the move it really makes you hold your breath.
It's also the oldest race on the calendar, this year marks the 60th running of the event in the official Formula 1 World Championship, some of the biggest names in the sport have conquered the tricky track, will we see a new winner or will a wise, older head move to the forefront?
The circuit really does settle the men from the boys. It all kicks off on the pit straight, which isn't actually straight at all. It gently curves right on the run to Ste Devote, a notoriously tricky corner that can catch out even the best of drivers. It is a near 90 degree right-hand bend that is usually taken in second gear. This will be where the DRS zone ends and is one of the best overtaking opportunities, watch out for some chaos on lap one for sure.
This slow corner then catapults the drivers on to the fast run uphill, through the second corner (a fast kink that isn't really a corner at all) before the cars approach the long left-hander that is Massenet. Next up comes the famous Casino Square, a tight right where getting as close to the barriers as possible will give drivers that added sling-shot down the Avenue des Beaux Arts. This short straight isn't taken in that sense, the cars snake right right and then left to avoid a large bump on outside.
Next up comes Mirabeau, another slow right where Christian Albers famously spun his Minardi back in 2005. This almost completely blocked the track and caused Michael Schumacher to run into the back of David Coulthard's Red Bull. A short burst of speed leads cars on to the Fairmont Hairpin (formerly known as the Grand Hotel, Loews and Station hairpin). It is the tightest corner on the Formula 1 calendar and requires full lock, meaning that whilst drivers do overtake there it is impossible to run side by side without contact.
The double right-hander of Portier follows soon after, as the cars continue to travel downhill. This leads the cars on to the famous tunnel (one of just three ever in Formula 1) where aerodynamically cars can lose up to 30% of their down force due to the unique properties of the tunnel.
After flashing back into the brightness, the cars brake hard for the Nouvelle Chicane. This is the best place to overtake due to the heavy braking and longer run up to the corner, however it requires a car to follow closely through the tunnel and move onto the bumpy inside lane. Safety at this corner has changed drastically and the bumps have been leveled, but it still catches drivers out. Jenson Button crashed heavily there back in 2003, Sergio Perez has made contact with the wall there too for the past two years.
This is a two part corner, with the 10th turn being made up of a short left-right chicane and the 11th being made up of the opposite, a right-left kink. A short burst on the power leads on to Tabac.
This is a tight fourth gear corner that requires full use of the track, cars often tap the barrier at this point of the circuit and in 2008 Lewis Hamilton got a bit too close. The Brit had to pit for repairs and went on to win in uncharacteristically wet conditions.
The wheel is rarely straight for the rest of the lap due to the hectic last part of the lap. Piscine (or the "Swimming Pool" corner) almost immediately follows Tabac and is a two part corner. The first is a close to flat out, high speed left-right chicane which is followed by a slower right-left complex that has some run off, cars often cut that corner. When you get it wrong, you definitely feed the consequences. Nico Rosberg did just that in 2008 and managed to hit the barrier on both sides of the track, emerging unscathed but destroying his Williams car.
Turn 17 is the iconic La Rascasse, made more famous in recent times after Michael Schumacher purposely stopped on track to avoid losing his pole position during qualifying for the 2006 round. It is another full lock right-hander before the lap ends with another tight, tricky right corner that leads the cars back on to the pit straight.
The slightly claustrophobic layout of the Circuit de Monaco makes it quite tricky to negotiate as a driver, and part of the media or teams. The paddock is located over the circuit (you cross it via bridge) by the harbour and this makes it rather tricky to get around. Natalie Pinkham, Sky Sports F1 Pit Reporter and Presenter, told my friend Daniel Puddicombe "Monaco is impossibly hard to work out because everything is laid out badly, because its obviously around a street circuit; you've got the pit lane in one place and you've got the paddock and the motor-hones in another." Summing it up, she said "Monaco isn't the easiest of places."
Red Bull Racing bring their famous floating motor-home to the race weekend, which usually contains a swimming pool which is perfect for diving in after a successful day at the track. Other teams manage to squeeze their huge European race structures on the harbour side but it is a tight squeeze, like the track itself.
Last years race saw Mark Webber race to victory, but only just. He led home a trail of five other cars, all of whom were within six seconds of the Aussie. It was a truly unique finish but one that yielded no change in position for much of the race, the pit stops proved to be the only real area where positions changed. Check out my One Year Rewind for RichlandF1 to have a better look.
Monaco 2012 also saw the fall from the top to the very bottom for Pastor Maldonado. He won the previous race in Spain but purposely turned in on Sergio Perez during third practice, crashed his car shortly after and started from the back of the grid due to two penalties. He then crashed out on the first lap of the race, for a more detailed look check out my piece on his hero to zero two weeks.
The race weekend also saw Michael Schumacher return to pole position after a luckless draught. However he didn't line up first on the grid due to a five-place penalty, but it was certainly a lap to remember.
Going into this weekends race, it is clear that Ferrari, Lotus and Red Bull are out front in the race. However Mercedes could do well in qualifying and hence slow up the chasing pack due to the lack of overtaking.
Monaco Grand Prix Factfile:
Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Track Length: 2.075 miles
Direction: Clockwise
Turns: 19
Laps: 66
Gear changes per lap: 54
Full throttle: 42%
First race: 1950 (First year of the Formula 1 World Championship)
Lap record: 1m14.439 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004
Tyre compounds: Super-soft and soft
2012 race winner: Mark Webber
2012 pole position: Mark Webber
2012 fastest lap: 1m17.296 Sergio Perez, Sauber
Live on: Sky Sports F1 (Highlights BBC SPORT)
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
The barriers loom ever larger, the engines echo ever louder and the fans get even closer to the action. Overtaking is limited around the tight confines of the track, but it's not impossible and when someone does make the move it really makes you hold your breath.
It's also the oldest race on the calendar, this year marks the 60th running of the event in the official Formula 1 World Championship, some of the biggest names in the sport have conquered the tricky track, will we see a new winner or will a wise, older head move to the forefront?
The circuit really does settle the men from the boys. It all kicks off on the pit straight, which isn't actually straight at all. It gently curves right on the run to Ste Devote, a notoriously tricky corner that can catch out even the best of drivers. It is a near 90 degree right-hand bend that is usually taken in second gear. This will be where the DRS zone ends and is one of the best overtaking opportunities, watch out for some chaos on lap one for sure.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
This slow corner then catapults the drivers on to the fast run uphill, through the second corner (a fast kink that isn't really a corner at all) before the cars approach the long left-hander that is Massenet. Next up comes the famous Casino Square, a tight right where getting as close to the barriers as possible will give drivers that added sling-shot down the Avenue des Beaux Arts. This short straight isn't taken in that sense, the cars snake right right and then left to avoid a large bump on outside.
Next up comes Mirabeau, another slow right where Christian Albers famously spun his Minardi back in 2005. This almost completely blocked the track and caused Michael Schumacher to run into the back of David Coulthard's Red Bull. A short burst of speed leads cars on to the Fairmont Hairpin (formerly known as the Grand Hotel, Loews and Station hairpin). It is the tightest corner on the Formula 1 calendar and requires full lock, meaning that whilst drivers do overtake there it is impossible to run side by side without contact.
The double right-hander of Portier follows soon after, as the cars continue to travel downhill. This leads the cars on to the famous tunnel (one of just three ever in Formula 1) where aerodynamically cars can lose up to 30% of their down force due to the unique properties of the tunnel.
After flashing back into the brightness, the cars brake hard for the Nouvelle Chicane. This is the best place to overtake due to the heavy braking and longer run up to the corner, however it requires a car to follow closely through the tunnel and move onto the bumpy inside lane. Safety at this corner has changed drastically and the bumps have been leveled, but it still catches drivers out. Jenson Button crashed heavily there back in 2003, Sergio Perez has made contact with the wall there too for the past two years.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
This is a tight fourth gear corner that requires full use of the track, cars often tap the barrier at this point of the circuit and in 2008 Lewis Hamilton got a bit too close. The Brit had to pit for repairs and went on to win in uncharacteristically wet conditions.
The wheel is rarely straight for the rest of the lap due to the hectic last part of the lap. Piscine (or the "Swimming Pool" corner) almost immediately follows Tabac and is a two part corner. The first is a close to flat out, high speed left-right chicane which is followed by a slower right-left complex that has some run off, cars often cut that corner. When you get it wrong, you definitely feed the consequences. Nico Rosberg did just that in 2008 and managed to hit the barrier on both sides of the track, emerging unscathed but destroying his Williams car.
Turn 17 is the iconic La Rascasse, made more famous in recent times after Michael Schumacher purposely stopped on track to avoid losing his pole position during qualifying for the 2006 round. It is another full lock right-hander before the lap ends with another tight, tricky right corner that leads the cars back on to the pit straight.
The slightly claustrophobic layout of the Circuit de Monaco makes it quite tricky to negotiate as a driver, and part of the media or teams. The paddock is located over the circuit (you cross it via bridge) by the harbour and this makes it rather tricky to get around. Natalie Pinkham, Sky Sports F1 Pit Reporter and Presenter, told my friend Daniel Puddicombe "Monaco is impossibly hard to work out because everything is laid out badly, because its obviously around a street circuit; you've got the pit lane in one place and you've got the paddock and the motor-hones in another." Summing it up, she said "Monaco isn't the easiest of places."
Red Bull Racing bring their famous floating motor-home to the race weekend, which usually contains a swimming pool which is perfect for diving in after a successful day at the track. Other teams manage to squeeze their huge European race structures on the harbour side but it is a tight squeeze, like the track itself.
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
Monaco 2012 also saw the fall from the top to the very bottom for Pastor Maldonado. He won the previous race in Spain but purposely turned in on Sergio Perez during third practice, crashed his car shortly after and started from the back of the grid due to two penalties. He then crashed out on the first lap of the race, for a more detailed look check out my piece on his hero to zero two weeks.
The race weekend also saw Michael Schumacher return to pole position after a luckless draught. However he didn't line up first on the grid due to a five-place penalty, but it was certainly a lap to remember.
Going into this weekends race, it is clear that Ferrari, Lotus and Red Bull are out front in the race. However Mercedes could do well in qualifying and hence slow up the chasing pack due to the lack of overtaking.
Monaco Grand Prix Factfile:
 |
| (c) AllF1.Info |
Direction: Clockwise
Turns: 19
Laps: 66
Gear changes per lap: 54
Full throttle: 42%
First race: 1950 (First year of the Formula 1 World Championship)
Lap record: 1m14.439 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004
Tyre compounds: Super-soft and soft
2012 race winner: Mark Webber
2012 pole position: Mark Webber
2012 fastest lap: 1m17.296 Sergio Perez, Sauber
Live on: Sky Sports F1 (Highlights BBC SPORT)
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