During its glittering history, the Monaco Grand Prix has
always attracted high drama and celebrities. We look back at the last 62 years
of Riviera F1 action on and off the track…
1950: The first year the Monaco Grand Prix counted towards
the Formula One World Championship. Juan Manuel Fangio scored his first F1
victory.
1955: After an interval of a few years the race returned,
and, at the age of 56, Louis Chiron became the oldest driver to compete in an
F1 race – despite Michael Schumacher’s best attempts. Alberto Ascari ended up
in the harbour that year. The days, the Red Bull Racing drivers like to reenact
the Italian’s splash by jumping off the Energy Station.
1956: Hollywood actress Grace Kelly married
Prince Rainer III in a lavish two-day
ceremony. Although she never made another film (despite Albert Hitchcock’s
pleading) she did go on to present trophies at the Grand Prix.
1965: In the 60s, Graham Hill earned the nickname ‘Mr
Monaco’ after winning the race five times. His most famous victory came in ’65,
despite driving up an escape road to avoid a backmarker. These days, Vijay Mallya
has lifted that title by throwing the biggest yacht parties. Paul Hawkins
repeated Ascari’s feat by driving his Lotus into the harbour. In fact, few
drivers emerge from Monaco dry – though that’s mostly down to champagne.
1966: The John Frankenheimer movie Grand Prix featured
cameos from several drivers of the day, such as Graham Hill and Jim Clark, but
the cast also descended on Monaco. They included James Garner, Yves Montand,
Eva Marie Saint and the gorgeous Francoise Hardy.
1971: Infamous director Roman Polanski trailed Jackie
Stewart around the Monaco Grand Prix for his revealing film Weekend Of A
Champion. He even got into the driver’s bathroom. And Ringo Starr made an
appearance, too.
More…
1974: Sixteen cars retired from this encounter, most of them
through a huge midfield accident. Ronnie Peterson took the win, while Britain’s
John Watsonscored his first F1 points.
1982: Perhaps the craziest Monaco GP ever. Rene Arnoux,
Alain Prost, Riccardo Patrese, Didier Pironi and Andrea de Cesaris all suffered
mishaps while leading – although Patrese managed to restart his car after
spinning to claim the victory (his first). As James Hunt commented: “We’re
waiting for a winner but we don’t appear to be getting one.”
1984: Alain Prost, who along with Ayrton Senna would
dominate the top step of the Monaco podium for the next decade, took his first
and, disappointingly, most controversial win in the Principality. The race was
stopped before reaching two-thirds distance and therefore only half-points were
awarded. Prost regretted the stoppage at the end of the season as he lost out
on the world title by half a point.
1992: Williams’ Nigel Mansell, who had won all five of the
previous races that year, had a tense duel with Senna after a loose wheel-nut
forced him to pit and emerge behind the Brazilian. Senna took the chequered
flag just 0.2 seconds ahead of our Nige.
1993:
Senna scored
his record sixth victory. Back in 1987, he was the first driver to win in a car
with active suspension. He was caught by police the next day for riding a motorbike
without a helmet. He was released when they realized who he was.
1997: Stewart Grand Prix finish second, five races into the
team’s short life. Sir Jackie and son Paul Stewart weep with joy at the podium
ceremony.
1998: Sylvester Stallone was in the paddock trying to bring
a new movie about F1 to life. The film was never made, so we have no idea
whether it would have been worse than his IndyCar movie Driven. Incidentally,
Ron Howard’s movie about Hunt vs. Lauda, Rush, is out in September.
2004: Jarno Trulli took his only grand prix victory after
leader Michael Schumacher took his nose off in the tunnel.
2005: Red Bull Racing tied up with Star Wars, and that meant
Chewbacca and C-3PO had a paddock pass and grid access. The following year, in
a similar promotional arrangement with a Superman film, David Coulthard
suffered the indignity wearing a red cape on the third step of the podium.
2006: Although Michael Schumacher won an impressive five
Monaco GPs, equaling
Graham Hill, his 2006 visit was gravely
controversial. He was sent to the back of the grid after ruining Fernando
Alonso’s qualifying lap by ‘parking’ at the Rascasse turn and bringing out
yellow flags. Mind you, there is a bar there and driving a Ferrari is thirsty work.
2008: Lewis Hamilton’s singular Monaco win made McLaren the
most successful constructor, with 15 victory’s on the tight and twisty streets.
Not looking so hot for them this year. Still, with Ferrari on nine and Red Bull
on three the record is safe for now.
2009: Jenson Button won his ‘home’ race with Brawn, but
parked in the wrong place and had to run half a mile to the podium ceremony. Winning
the Monaco Grand Prix is the single coolest thing a sportsman can be seen doing
– yet Jenson managed to look like a bit of a
prat, and that takes some doing.
