The Monaco Grand Prix is all about peaks and troughs, from the utter delight of winning the most prestigious race on the calendar to the depths of depression when it all slips away. Just consider the last two seasons of its 75 year history; Ricciardo’s pole position and seemingly safe win twelve months ago destroyed by a late call on which type of slicks to use for the remainder of the race, only for those slicks to be hidden away in the back of the Red Bull garage. Or Hamilton’s certain victory in 2015 wiped out by a late dash to the pit lane under Safety Car which allowed both Rosberg and Vettel to pass. Everything is on a knife edge in Monaco, from drivers teetering on the limit of adhesion next to Armco barriers, to the pressure in the cramped pit lane for mechanics, and even the make-or-break commercial deals that can be sealed on the deck of a multi million pound yacht. There is nothing quite like Monaco and it holds a very special place on the F1 calendar.
Mind you, some folk would also accuse it of being dull; a track on which it is almost impossible to overtake, where’s the fun in that? The fun is in seeing who balances on that edge and who falls off. Who makes a miniscule mistake that wipes out a weekend’s work, who has the courage and committment to brush the barriers in qualifying and then stay within those walls in the race. The tales of woe here are endless: Alberto Ascari crashing into the harbour while leading in 1955; the fatal accident of Lorenzo Bandini when hustling his Ferrari in 1967; Jack Brabham spinning out of the lead on the final corner in 1970; Jim Clark suffering mechanical problems on various occasions denying him a single victory despite being on pole position four times; Damon Hill missing out on backing up his father’s five wins when his engine let go in 1996. Ricciardo’s misery last year and Hamilton’s the year before were not isolated incidents on these unforgiving streets.
Positive stories also emerge, however, and sometimes from the most unlikely sources. Two French drivers, virtually on home soil, enjoyed their only ever Grand Prix victories here in wet conditions. Jean-Pierre Beltoise mastered horrendous weather in 1972 in his BRM while Olivier Panis stunned everyone by winning in a Ligier in 1996 and so unexpected was his success, he had to borrow a suit for the presentation dinner that evening. Stirling Moss famously fended off both Ferraris in a slower Lotus in 1961 but Ferrari had enjoyed their own surprise win in 1955 when both Mercedes broke down, Ascari disappeared beneath the waves as we have already established, and Maurice Trintignant, then a 37yo journeyman racer who had never won before, took the first of his two wins in the Principality.
However, it’s a long time since Ferrari last won around here. 2001 to be precise, a 16 year gap which funnily enough is the same gap they had between wins in 1981 (Gilles Villeneuve) and 1997 (Michael Schumacher). Sebastian Vettel reckons they will be in the fight for pole position this year and if so, there’s every chance of that elusive victory. But Mercedes have won the last four in a row on these streets and this is a racer’s circuit, a chancer’s playground where Hamilton not only feels at home - he IS at home.
Mind you, some folk would also accuse it of being dull; a track on which it is almost impossible to overtake, where’s the fun in that? The fun is in seeing who balances on that edge and who falls off. Who makes a miniscule mistake that wipes out a weekend’s work, who has the courage and committment to brush the barriers in qualifying and then stay within those walls in the race. The tales of woe here are endless: Alberto Ascari crashing into the harbour while leading in 1955; the fatal accident of Lorenzo Bandini when hustling his Ferrari in 1967; Jack Brabham spinning out of the lead on the final corner in 1970; Jim Clark suffering mechanical problems on various occasions denying him a single victory despite being on pole position four times; Damon Hill missing out on backing up his father’s five wins when his engine let go in 1996. Ricciardo’s misery last year and Hamilton’s the year before were not isolated incidents on these unforgiving streets.
Positive stories also emerge, however, and sometimes from the most unlikely sources. Two French drivers, virtually on home soil, enjoyed their only ever Grand Prix victories here in wet conditions. Jean-Pierre Beltoise mastered horrendous weather in 1972 in his BRM while Olivier Panis stunned everyone by winning in a Ligier in 1996 and so unexpected was his success, he had to borrow a suit for the presentation dinner that evening. Stirling Moss famously fended off both Ferraris in a slower Lotus in 1961 but Ferrari had enjoyed their own surprise win in 1955 when both Mercedes broke down, Ascari disappeared beneath the waves as we have already established, and Maurice Trintignant, then a 37yo journeyman racer who had never won before, took the first of his two wins in the Principality.
However, it’s a long time since Ferrari last won around here. 2001 to be precise, a 16 year gap which funnily enough is the same gap they had between wins in 1981 (Gilles Villeneuve) and 1997 (Michael Schumacher). Sebastian Vettel reckons they will be in the fight for pole position this year and if so, there’s every chance of that elusive victory. But Mercedes have won the last four in a row on these streets and this is a racer’s circuit, a chancer’s playground where Hamilton not only feels at home - he IS at home.